mffiiiiipiiipiMifiPi 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


WAGNER  OPERA 
STORIES. 


By 
GRACE  EDSON  BARBER, 


ez^^ 


Blctmin^Un,   Illintiii, 

Public-School  Publishing  Co. 
1901. 


Copyright  I  go  I, 
GRACE  EDSON   BARBER, 

CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS. 

Copyright  igoi, 

PUBLIC-SCHOOL  PUBLISHING  CO., 
.    BLOOMINGTON,  ILLINOIS. 


Press  of 

Pantagraph  Ptg.  &  Sta.  Co., 

bloomington,  ill. 


lOD 


k-7  *^  a 


To  My  Father  and  Mother, 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Pagb. 

I,  Introduction          -          -          -          -  13 

II.  The  Rhine-Gold             .          .          -  19 

III.  Die  Walkiire,  or  the  Story  of  Brunhilde  53 

IV.  Siegfried  I             .         .         -         -  73 
V.  Siegfried  II            ,          .          .          -  97 

VI.  Die  Gotterdammerung               -          -  1 29 

VII.  Parsifal  I     -          -          -          -          -  1 55 

VIII.  Parsifal  II               -          -          -          -  173 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 

Brunhilde       -  -  -  Fro7itispiece 

Alberich  Stealing  the  Gold          -          -          -  25 

Wotan  Gains  Possession  of  the  Magic  Ring  -  39 

Walhalla  and  the  Rainbow  Bridge        -          -  47 

Siegfried  Slays  the  Dragon          -          -          -  113 

Siegfried  at  the  Palace  of  Hagen           -          -  135 

Siegfried  Understands  the  Song  of  the  Rhine 

Daughters        -           -           -           -           -  149 


INTRODUCTION, 


INTRODUCTION. 


Stories  hold  the  same  relative  position 
in  the  development  of  children  that  liter- 
ature does  in  the  life  of  the  adult.  They 
give  to  the  child  a  broader  glimpse  of  life 
than  his  own  little  v^^orld  can  afford  him. 
They  bring  to  him  richer  and  more  varied 
experiences  than  it  is  possible  for  him  to 
pass  through  personally.  In  the  right 
kind  of  stories  are  made  possible  all  those 
splendid  "might  he's"  which  like  giants 
battle  down  the  prison  walls  of  fear  and 
give  to  the  soul  the  courage  to  bring  to 
light  its  fair  ideals  and  beautiful  dreams 
and  thus  change  life  from  dull  prose  to 
glorious  poetry.  One  does  not  need  a 
lengthy  conversation  with  a  man  or 
woman  to  discover  whether  his  or  her 
childhood  has  been  passed  in  the  common- 


INTRODUCTION. 

place  details  of  every  day  life,  or  to  feel 
that  he  or  she,  in  childhood,  became 
familiar  with  prophets  and  psalmists, 
with  king's  and  queens,  with  g-enii  and 
g'iant.  In  the  latter  case  there  is  a  light- 
ness of  touch,  a  quickness  of  intellect  and 
intuitive  perception  of  the  courtesy  due 
the  occasion  and  which  is  recognized  al- 
though it  remains  an  indescribable  some- 
thing. In  the  one  case  the  imagination 
has  been  rightly  cultivated  and  in  the  other 
case  it  has  been  neg'lected.  And  yet  there 
is  scarcely  any  part  of  education  that  is 
as  misunderstood  as  the  wise  selection  of 
stories  for  children. 

There  still  lingers  in  the  minds  of  some 
good  people  a  prejudice  ag'ainst  the  re- 
telling to  children,  of  the  g-reat  myths  of 
the  race,  simplified  of  course  as  to  com- 
plexity of  detail  and  motive.  As  well 
might  we  refuse  to  let  them  listen  to  the 

14 


INTRODUCTION 


best  music,  or  to  look  at  the  world's  best 
pictures.  There  is  even  a  closer  relation- 
ship between  the  childish  mind  and  the 
mythical  story  than  there  is  between  it 
and  sublime  music  or  great  pictures.  In 
the  myth  the  child-race  embodied  its  deep- 
est spiritual  experiences  in  simple  child- 
like forms.  It  had  no  other  way  of  leaving- 
a  record  of  its  "far-off  calling  after  God." 
It  was  a  necessary  stage  of  race-develop- 
ment and  is  an  equally  necessary  stage  of 
child-development.  Myths  and  the  right 
kinds  of  fairy-tales  are  truth  put  into  em- 
bodied form,  without  comment  or  moral 
appendix.  How  much  of  our  comprehen- 
sion of  the  teachings  of  Jesus  Christ  would 
have  been  lacking  if  we  had  not  the  par- 
ables of  the  sower,  the  house  on  the  sand, 
the  prodigal  son,  and  all  the  rest  of  those 
beautiful  mythical  stories  with  which  He 
taught  the  multitude? 

15 


INTRODUCTION. 

I  know  of  no  finer  illustration  of  how  to 

handle  the  great  myth-treasures  of  the  race 

than   that  shown  by  Miss  Barber  in  the 

following"  simple  retelling'  of  some  of  the 

old  legends,  told  and  retold  by  generations 

of  mothers  to  their  listening'  children,  and 

which  finally  culminated  by  setting   the 

soul  of  Richard  Wagner  on  fire.  They  have 

interpreted  the  meaning'  of  music  to  the 

childish  heart  as  I  have  seldom  seen  it 

interpreted.     What  was   too   complex  'is 

left  out.     What  was  sweet  and  true  and 

strong  has  been  retained,  and  all  has  been 

rewoven  with  a  daintiness  of  touch  that 

belongs  to  the  true  artist  which  in  this 

case  is  but  another  name  for  the  true  story 

teller. 

Elizabeth  Harrison, 

Chicago,  Illinois. 


16 


THE  RHINE-GOLD. 


THE  RHINE-GOLD. 

All  is  quiet,  beautiful,  and  peaceful  in 
our  world  now,  but  it  has  not  always  been 
so. 

Thousands  of  years  ago  it  was  very  dif- 
ferent. Great  earthquakes  shook  the 
foundations  of  the  earth.  Sharp  lig-ht- 
ning-  kept  the  sky  on  fire  and  deep  thun- 
der rolled.  Great  giants  lived  on  moun- 
tains so  high  that  their  peaks  were  partly 
hidden  by  the  clouds.  Black  and  ugly 
dwarfs  lived  under  the  earth  and  worked 
with  all  kinds  of  metals,  while  on  the 
earth's  surface  lived  the  common  race  of 
men. 

Great  were  the  struggles  of  these  early 
days  and  many  were  the  lessons  learned. 
So  wonderful  was  the  story  of  those  far- 


^ 


THE       RHINE     -     GOLD. 


away  ages  that  it  has  been  told  again  and 
again.  Men  whose  souls  seem  to  have 
been  on  fire  have  written  books  telling 
this  story.  Others  have  shown  it  in  pic- 
tures great  and  beautiful,  but  the  most 
wonderful  way  it  has  ever  been  told  is  by 
the  greatest  musician  of  the  world.  In 
grand  and  sublime  music  he  has  told  of 
the  mighty  conflicts,  the  battles  lost,  the 
victories  won,  and  the  peace  which  came 
at  last.  So  wonderful  is  this  story  as  he 
told  it  that  the  greatest  singers  of  the 
world  sing  it  over  and  over  again  so  that 
all  people  may  learn  its  great  lesson  and 
be  filled  with  a  love  stronger  than  the 
giants  themselves. 

Perhaps  as  you  read  this  story,  or  when 
you  are  men  and  women  and  you  hear  it 
sung,  your  hearts,  too,  will  respond  again 
to  the  struggles  of  those  mighty  heroes 
of  long  ago. 

20 


\ 


I, 


THE       RHINE     -     GOLD. 

THE   RHINE-GOLD. 

Far  away  over  the  ocean  in  Germany, 
there  is  a  very  beautiful  river  which  is 
called   the   Rhine.     People   g^o   hundreds 
and  thousands  of  miles  to  ride  upon  its 
waters.     From  its  banks  rise  many  hills. 
Some  of  them  are  very  high,  while  others 
are  lower  and  less  steep.     On  these  hills 
are  quaint  old  castles  which  for  centuries 
were  the  homes  of  brave,  true  knigh 
But  the  story  is  not  about  the  Rhine  a 
is  now,  but  as  it  was  thousands  of  ye    :; 
ag-o. 

At  that  time  ever  so  many  strange,  un- 
earthly creatures  lived  in  the  beaut  a: 
Rhine  river.  They  had  long-,  g-olden  !  ti: 
and  very  happy  faces,  for  they  had  never 
known  sorrow.  The  queer  thing-  nbout 
these  maidens  was  that  they  could  '.v 
be  seen  out  of  the  river.  They  ate,  ■  i^pl 
and  played  in  its  depths.     Their  i'^hv^ 

21 


THE       RHINE     -GOLD. 

who  had  left  them  many  years  ago,  had 
called  them  the  Rhine  Daughters,  after 
their  river  home. 

In  this  river  were  many  rocks.  Some 
were  very  high  and  others  so  low  that  they 
could  scarcely  be  seen.  These  were  play- 
mates for  the  Rhine  Daughters.  They 
could  jump  from  one  rock  to  another  as 
lightly  as  a  squirrel  can  spring  from  tree 
to  tree. 

On  the  highest  rock  of  all  was  what  all 
this  story  is  about, — a  lump  of  pure,  solid 
gold,  more  bright  than  anything  imagin- 
able. This  gold  had  belonged  to  the  river 
Rhine  as  long  as  anyone  then  living  could 
remember,  and  it,  too,  was  named  after 
the  river.  So  its  name  was  the  Rhine- 
Gold.j 

When  the  father  of  the  maidens  left 
them  he  told  tliem  that  whatever  else 
they  did,  they  must  be  sure  to  watch  and 

22 


THE       RHINE 


G  0  L  D 


g-uard  this  Rhine-Gold.  Never  for  one 
instant  were  they  to  leave  it  alone  lest 
some  one  might  come  and  steal  it  away. 

One  morning-  they  were  unusually  happy 
as  they  danced  from  one  rock  to  another, 
and  no  wonder;  for  the  Rhine-Gold  looked 
more  beautiful  than  ever  as  the  sun  came 
up  and  shone  upon  it.  It  looked  then  as 
if  hundreds  of  sunbeams  were  hidden 
within  it. 

The  Rhine  Daughters  noticed  how 
beautiful  it  was,  and  taking  hold  of  hands 
they  danced  around  it.  As  they  danced 
they  began  to  sing  in  fresh,  glad  tones,  a 
beautiful  song,  and  this  is  their  song: 


|^,frfp-^ijjjjjifj>r;irf.rrf^4 


?^ 


=??= 


RHINE  DAUGHTERS  MOTIVE. 

Scarcely  had  the  last  notes  died  away 
when  they  heard  a  voice.     They  turned 

23 


/ 


THE       RHINE    -     GOLD. 

quickly  to  see  whence  it  came,  but  no  one 
was  there.  Presently  they  heard  the  voice 
again,  and  looking  down  they  saw  many 
little  ripples  on  the  surface  of  the  river. 
The  voice  seemed  to  be  coming"  nearer  and 
nearer.  They  listened  and  this  is  what 
they  heard: 


NIBELUNG   MOTIVE. 

In  a  moment,  up  out  of  the  river  came 
the  ugliest  little  dwarf  you  can  imagine. 
He  was  very  small,  and  instead  of  stand- 
ing up  straight  as  a  knight  or  brave  man 
would  stand,  he  was  bent  away  over.  His 
face  was  dark  and  hideous,  and  his  coal 
black  hair  as  matted  as  if  it  had  never 
been  combed. 

He  was  so  different  from  any  one  the 
Rhine  Daughters  had  ever  seen  that  at 
first  they  were  frightened. 

24 


\ 


-i 


THE       RHINE     -     GOLD. 

"Good  morning-  to  you,"  said  the  dwarf, 

"Good  morning-,  sir,"  said  the  Rhine 
Daughters.  "Who  are  you  and  where  did 
you  come  from?" 

"I  am  Alberich,  King-  of  the  Nibelungs, 
and  I  came  from  my  home  under  the 
earth." 

"You  do  not  live  under  the  earth  where 
there  is  no  sunshine,  do  you?"  asked  one 
of  the  maidens. 

"Sunshine!"  said  Alberich,  squinting  his 
eyes,  "I  do  not  like  sunshine.  It  hurts  my 
eyes." 

"Are  the  Nibelungs  all  black  and  ugly 
like  you?"  asked  another  Rhine  Daughter. 

"Yes,  they  are  all  dark,  but  if  you  will 
come  back  with  me  I  will  make  you  my 
queen  and  then  you  will  not  think  us  ugly." 

"What!  leave  the  sunshine  and  our 
Rhine-Gold?  Never!  Not  even  to  be  a 
queen  would  I  do  that!" 


THE       RHINE     -GOLD. 

"Gold,"  said  Alberich,  "where  is  it?" 

"Come  up  here  and  you  will  see  it," 
called  the  Rhine  Daughters. 

Alberich  tried  to  climb  up,  but  the  rocks 
were  so  slippery  that  it  took  him  a  long- 
time, for  at  every  other  step  he  slipped 
back.  Finally  he  got  high  enough  to  see 
the  gold,  and  it  almost  blinded  him,  for 
the  sun  was  shining  directly  upon  it,  and 
then,  too,  you  know,  his  eyes  were  not 
used  to  the  sunlight. 

"Tell  me  about  this  gold,"  said  Alberich. 

"Oh  yes!  We  never  tire  of  telling  the 
story  of  Rhine-Gold — that  is,  as  much  as 
we  know  of  it. 

"Many,  many  years  ago,  when  our 
father  left  us,  he  told  us  to  watch  and 
guard  the  gold;  then  he  told  us  the  secret 
of  its  power:  Whoever  can  gain  posses- 
sion of  the  gold  can  make  it  into  a  magic 

28 


THE       RHINE     -     GOLD. 

ring",  and  that  ring  will  make  him  master 
of  all  earthly  powers  except  love." 

"Love!  What  do  I  care  for  love  if  I  can 
have  magic  power,"  cried  the  dwarf. 

"Oh,  but  love  is  all  that  makes  the 
world  beautiful.  'Tis  love  that  sends  the 
sunshine  and  the  flowers,"  said  one  of  the 
Rhine  Daughters. 

"Love  is  nothing-  to  me,"  said  Alberich, 
and  before  they  knew  it  he  had  stolen  the 
gold  and  was  fast  disappearing  beneath 
the  river. 

"Oh!  Our  Rhine-Gold!  Our  Rhine-Gold 
is  gone!"  cried  the  maidens.  They  called 
loudly  to  Alberich,  but  it  was  too  late; 
for  already  he  had  vanished,  and  they 
could  see  nothing  but  the  ripples  on  the 
surface  of  the  river.  They  sprang  into 
the  water,  but  only  to  see  him  sink  down, 
down,  down  to  his  deep,  dark  home,  and 
they  could  hear  him  say,  "Now  the  earth 
is  mine!"  29 


THE       RHINE    -     GOLD. 

"Ah,"  said  the  sorrowful  Rhine  Daugh- 
ters, as  they  came  up  to  their  rocks  again, 
"he  thinks  he  has  the  whole  world,  but  it 
will  be  nothing  to  him  if  he  has  not  love. 
Our  gold!  Our  beautiful  gold!  Why  did 
Alberich  steal  it!"  And  they  sadly 
mourned. 

After  that  the  Rhine  Daughters  rarely 
played  on  the  rocks,  but  whenever  they 
were  seen  there  they  could  be  heard  sing- 
ing of  their  Rhine-Gold.  But  how  changed 
was  their  song!  Instead  of  being  full  of 
joy,  it  was  sorrowful  and  sad,  for  the 
beautiful  lump  of  gold  which  had  always 
been  theirs  had  been  stolen. 

High  up  on  top  of  a  mountain  lived 
some  very  wise  giants.  The  wisest  one 
was  the  king,  and  his  name  was  Wotan. 

For  a  long  time  Wotan  had  wanted  a 
palace  large  enough  for  all  the  giants  to 
live  in,  but  he  could  find  no  one  stalwart 


THE       RHINE    -     GOLD. 

and  strong"  enough  to  build  it,  so  they  had 
to  live  out  of  doors  on  the  mountain. 

One  morning  they  were  all  awakened 
very  early  by  a  queer,  rumbling  sound. 

"What  is  that  noise?"  said  Wotan's 
sister. 

"I  do  not  know.  It  sounds  like  an  earth- 
quake," answered  he. 

"Listen!  It  seems  to  come  nearer!  It 
looks  as  if  a  great  mountain  were  moving 
toward  us." 


■-> ^   -  -  ^  1'^  M     .    .L  m.-i^l-   L.  -     J      J 


m 


2:^ 


•"•;;/Ci;"fJf  LfC^C/'V^-tj' 


GIANT  MOTIVE. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  sound,  and 
nearer  came  what  they  thought  was  a 
mountain. 

31 


THE       RHINE    -GOLD. 

''It  is  a  man!"  cried  Wotan,  "but  he  is 
ten  times  larger  than  any  of  us.  I  must 
go  to  meet  him." 

"Ho  there!"  cried  Wotan,  "what  do  you 
want?" 

"I  have  come  to  build  you  a  palace," 
thundered  the  big  giant. 

'  'First  tell  me  who  you  are,"  said  "Wotan. 

"I  am  Fafner,  the  frost  giant,  and  I  am 
so  strong  I  could  lift  this  mountain  if  I 
chose." 

"How  long  will  it  take  you,  and  how 
much  will  you  charge  for  building  me  a 
palace?  It  must  be  so  large  that  it  will 
cover  the  whole  top  of  yonder  mountain." 

"I  will  build  the  palace  tonight  so  that 
you  can  move  in  tomorrow  at  sunrise,  but 
for  pay  you  must  give  me  your  beautiful 
sister." 

Wotan's  thoughts  were  only  of  the  pal- 
ace, so  without  thinking,  he  promised  to 

32 


THE       R  H  I  N  E     -     G  0  L  D  . 

give  his  sister  to  Fafner  as  soon  as  the 
palace  was  finished. 

All  that  day  Wotan  and  his  comrades 
feasted  and  danced  and  had  a  very  happy 
time  for  they  were  all  thinking  of  the 
beautiful  palace  which  was  to  be  theirs  in 
the  morning. 

At  night  all  but  Fafner  lay  down  on  the 
mountain-side  to  sleep.  The  full  moon 
shone  as  bright  as  day  and  gave  light  to 
Fafner  for  his  work. 

With  one  step  he  crossed  over  to  the 
mountain  where  the  palace  was  to  be,  and 
quickly  went  to  work.  Such  stones  as  he 
brought!  Some  were  as  large  as  an  ordi- 
nary house,  some  smaller,  and  some  even 
larger.  At  midnight  the  outside  of  the 
palace  was  completed,  and  Fafner  went 
inside  to  finish  putting  in  the  windows 
and  doors. 

After  a  while  the  moon  and  stars  began 

33 


THE       RHINE     -GOLD. 

to  grow  dim,  and  the  great  g"iant  came  out- 
side to  look  at  his  work. 

"All  finished,"  he  said,  "and  before  sun- 
rise, too.  I  will  step  back  to  the  other 
mountain  and  wait  for  the  giants  to 
awaken." 

Very  soon  it  began  to  grow  light.  The 
sun  came  uj)  and  shone  on  the  beautiful 
white  marble  palace.  Fafner  sat  down 
and  waited,  but  it  was  not  long"  before  he 
heard  Wotan's  wife  calling"  him  to  awake 
and  see  the  beautiful  palace.  Wotan  and 
the  other  giants  arose  quickly  and  looked 
across  to  the  mountain  on  which  stood 
their  new  home. 

"How  beautiful!  How  beautiful!"  they 
cried. 

"Now  you  must  give  me  your  sister," 
said  Fafner,  "for  I  must  g"o  back  at  once 
to  the  frost  country." 

"You  must  think  of  some  other  way  for 

34 


THE       RHINE     -GOLD 


me  to  pay  you,  for  I  cannot  let  my  sister 
g-o.  Every  morning  she  feeds  us  with 
g-olden  apples  and  that  keeps  us  always 
young." 

"Very  well,"  said  Fafner,  and  the  whole 
mountain  shook  as  he  spoke,  for  he  was 
more  than  angry.  "Iwill  tear  the  palace 
down  quicker  than  I  built  it. " 

"No,  no,  do  not  do  that,"  cried  Wotan. 
"Give  me  just  one  hour  in  which  to  talk 
to  my  brother  about  it." 

"One  hour  only,"  said  Fafner. 

Wotan  soon  found  his  brother,  and  told 
him  they  had  but  one  hour  in  which  to 
save  their  sister.  Then  he  told  him  how 
he  had  promised  to  give  his  sister  in  pay- 
ment for  the  palace. 

"That  was  a  very  foolish  thing  to  do," 
said  his  brother,  "but  perhaps  we  can 
think  of  something  else   which   will  an- 


swer." 


35 


THE       RHINE    -     GOLD. 

"This  morning'  when  I  was  walking 
down  beside  the  Rhine  I  saw  Black  Al- 
berich  steal  the  Rhine-Gold,  and  I  also 
heard  the  Rhine  Daughters  tell  him  that 
a  ring-  could  be  made  of  it,  and  the  ring 
would  give  him  a  magic  secret,  so  he  could 
possess  all  earthly  power  save  love." 

"Perhaps  Fafner  would  take  the  gold 
instead  of  our  sister,"  continued  the 
brother,  "Let  us  go  and  ask  him." 

They  hurried  back  to  Fafner  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  take  the  gold  instead  of 
their  sister. 

"Yes,  I  will,  but  until  you  have  the  gold 
I  will  keep  your  sister.  When  you  bring- 
the  g-old  here,  I  will  bring  your  sister  back 
to  you." 

Then  lifting  the  beautiful  maiden  in  his 
arms,  Fafner  hurried  away,  and  instantly 
the  giants  began  to  g^row  old.  Clouds  came 
across  the  sky.     The  sun  was  hidden. 

36 


THE       RHINE     -     GOLD. 

"Quick,  brother,  let  us  go  at  once!" 
cried  Wotan. 

They  started  immediately  and  went 
down,  down,  down.  As  they  neared  Al- 
berich's  kingdom  such  a  noise  as  greeted 
their  ears!  It  was  just  like  ever  so  many 
hundreds  of  people  pounding-  on  anvils. 


v"-^   r'  ff'  rv'T  f  IT 


NIBELUNG  MOTIVE. 

"Here  we  are, "  said  Wotan.  "I  wonder 
where  Alberich  is!  When  he  comes  what 
shall  I  say  to  him?" 

"Leave  that  to  me,"  said  his  brother. 
Wotan's  brother  was  the  most  cunning  and 
sly  one  of  all  the  family  of  giants. 

Running  back  and  forth  in  every  direc- 
tion were  queer  little  people,  all  black  and 
bent  like  Alberich,  and  each  one  carrying 
gold,  silver  or  jorecious  stones. 

37 


THE       RHINE    -GOLD 


"Mime,  bring-  me  that  magic  helmet  at 
once  or  I  will  give  you  a  good  beating," 
called  Alberich  to  his  brother. 

*I  cannot  make  it,"  whined  Mime. 

"You  have  it  in  your  hand.  I  am  king 
here,  and  I  want  you  to  understand  that 
what  you  make  belongs  to  me,  and  not  to 
you!"  cried  Alberich. 

"Take  it  then,"  said  Mime,  throwing  it 
at  him. 

At  that  moment  Alberich  noticed  Wotan 
and  his  brother.  :^' 

"What  are  you  here  for,  and  what  do 
you  want,"  he  asked. 

"Oh,  we  just  came  to  see  you,"  said 
Wotan's  brother.  '  'What  use  is  that  magic 
helmet?" 

"With  that  I  can  change -myself  into 
anything  I  wish,"  answered  Alberich. 

"Change  into  a  dragon,"  said  Wotan. 

.38 


II 


THE       RHINE     -     GOLD. 

Alberich  slipped  the  helmet  over  his 
head  and  instantly  he  disappeared,  and  a 
huge  dragon  lay  squirming  before  them, 
and  then,  just  as  quickly  the  dragon  van- 
ished and  Alberich  appeared. 

"That  is  all  very  easy,"  said  Wotan's 
brother,  "but  I  don't  believe  you  can 
change  into  anything  as  small  as  a  toad, 
can  you?" 

This  made  Alberich  angry  and  he  put 
on  the  helmet  and  in  a  moment  a  toad 
hopped  at  their  feet. 

"Step  on  him  quick,  Wotan,"  said  his 
brother. 

Wotan  put  his  great  foot  upon  the  little 
toad,  but  instantly  the  toad  was  gone  and 
there  was  Alberich  struggling  to  get  from 
under  the  giant's  foot. 

"Let  me  go!  you  are  crushing  me!" 
screamed  Alberich. 

"Not  until  you  give  me  every  bit  of  your 

41 


THE       RHINE     -GOLD 


gold,  the  helmet  and  the  ring, "  said  Wotan. 

"You  may  have  all  but  the  ring-.  That 
I  will  keep,"  said  Alberich. 

"Then  I  will  crush  you,"  said  the  King 
of  the  Giants. 

"Take  it  all,  then,  and  let  me  go,"  cried 
the  dwarf. 

Wotan  lifted  his  foot  and  Alberich  got 
up  and  commanded  the  gold  to  be  brought. 
Without  delay  Wotan  and  his  brother 
gathered  it  up  and  put  it  into  large  sacks. 
Then,  turning  to  Alberich,  Wotan  de- 
manded the  helmet  which  he  unwillingly 
gave. 

"Now  the  magic  ring." 

Alberich 's  face  grew  blacker  and  blacker 
as  he  handed  the  ring  to  Wotan. 

"Listen  well  to  what  I  say, "  he  shouted. 

"Cursed  is  that  ring.     It  will  bring  only 

sorrow  and  unhappiness  to  anyone  who 

may  possess  it." 

42 


DIE         W    A     L     K     U    R     E    . 

But  Wotan  and  his  brother  paid  no  at- 
tention to  the  curse.  They  picked  up  the 
g-old  and  hurried  back  to  the  mountain. 
As  they  neared  it  they  heard  ag-ain  the 
rumbling  sound,  and  looking-  to  the  east 
they  saw  the  Frost  Giant,  with  the  sister 
in  his  arms,  coming"  over  the  moun- 
tain. 

"Here  is  the  g^old!  Now  g^ive  us  our  sis- 
ter that  we  may  be  young-  again,"  said 
Wotan. 

"Make  a  pile  of  it  as  high  as  your  sister 
is  tall,"  said  Fafner,  "but  if  there  is  one 
little  hole  in  it  through  which  I  can  see 
the  light,  I  will  not  give  her  back." 

Wotan  and  the  rest  of  the  wise  giants 
soon  had  the  gold  piled  up,  but  they  were 
careful  not  to  put  either  the  helmet  or  the 
magic  ring  upon  it. 

"I  see  a  crack!  Put  on  that  helmet!' 
shouted  Fafner. 

43 


DIE         W    A     L    K     U    R    E    . 

Seeiug  that  it  was  no  use  to  refuse,  Wo- 
tan  threw  the  helmet  on  the  pile. 

Fafner  walked  around  the  great  heap  of 
gold  and  looked  closely  at  it. 

"Here  is  just  one  more  little  crack.  You 
must  put  the  ring"  here  or  I  will  take  your 
sister  away  again." 

"No,  I  must  keep  the  ring,"  said 
Wotan. 

"Very  well.  I  was  afraid  you  would  not 
give  me  enough  gold,"  and  taking  the  sis- 
ter up  in  his  arms,  Fafner  started  off. 

"Give  him  the  ring!  Give  him  the  ring!' 
cried  all   the  giants,    "or  we  shall  soon 
grow  so  old  that  we  cannot  walk  nor  even 
see." 

"Stop,  Fafner,"  called  Wotan.  "Leave 
our  beautiful  sister.  Here  is  the  ring,  but 
I  warn  you  that  a  curse  goes  with  it." 

"What  do  I  care  for  a  curse!  I  do  not 
need  love  and  happiness  if  I  have  gold 

44 


DIE         W    A     L     K     U    R     E    . 

and  Fafner  gathered  up  the  shining-  heap, 
the  helmet  and  the  ring.  With  one  step 
he  disappeared.  But  he  had  left  the  beau- 
tiful maiden,  and  in  less  than  no  time  a 
change  came  over  all  the  giants.  They 
were  young  once  more! 

But  although  Wotan  had  regained  his 
youth,  he  had  such  a  queer,  heavy  feeling 
in  his  heart.  Again  and  again  he  thought 
he  heard  a  voice  say  "Cursed  is  the  Ring! 
It  will  bring  only  sorrow  and  unhappiness 
to  whoever  possesses  it!" 

"I  shall  never,  never  be  really  and  truly 
happy  again  because  I  did  not  give  the 
ring  back  to  the  Rhine  Daughters.  It  has 
taken  happiness  away  from  me.  Whom 
next  will  it  curse?  Oh,  if  I  had  but  given 
it  back  I  could  have  brought  happiness  in- 
stead of  unhappiness  to  many." 

As  he  sat  thinking,  many  black  clouds 
appeared   in   the   sky.     Fierce   lightning 

45 


DIE         W    A     L    K     U    R    E    . 

flashed.  The  thunder  shook  the  whole 
earth.     The  rain  poured  down. 

It  was  a  wild  and  terrible  storm,  but  it 
lasted  only  a  few  moments.  Again  the  sun 
shone  out.  Wotan  called  all  the  giants 
about  him,  and  looking  up  they  saw  a  rain- 
bow bridge  stretching  from  the  mountain 
on  which  they  were,  away  over  to  the  one 
where  the  splendid  palace  stood  in  all  its 
beauty. 

"Let  us  go  over  to  our  Walhalla,"  said 
Wotan,  "for  that  shall  be  the  name  of  our 
new  home." 

One  by  one  they  stepped  upon  the  bridge, 
and  walked  slowly  over,  and  all  the  time 
the  Walhalla  music  could  be  heard. 


v.'j^'^yfir:/r^l 


WALHALLA  MOTIVE. 

Wotan  was  the  last  one  to  step  upon 

46 


DIE        W    A     L    K     U    R    E 


the  bridge.    Very  slowly  he  walked.    Sud- 
denly he  stopped. 

"What  do  I  hear?"  said  he  to  himself. 
"Oh,  it  is  the  Rhine  Daughters  singing  of 
their  lost  gold,  and  I  might  have  given  it 
back  to  them  if  I  had  only  been  brave 
enough.  It  will  take  some  one  who  is 
braver  and  more  of  a  hero  than  I  to  give  it 
back,"  he  added  as  he  walked  slowly  on. 
"How  different  everything  might  have 
been  if  I  had  given  it  back.  Then  I  would 
not  feel  this  sadness.  And  now,  to  think 
that  everyone  who  has  the  ring  must  be 
unhappy  because  I  did  not  give  it  back 
and  break  the  curse! 

"How  beautiful  Walhalla  is,"  said  Wo- 
tan  as  he  stepped  into  the  palace,  "but 
how  dearly  have  I  paid  for  it!" 


49 


DIE   WALKURE. 


DIE  WALKURE, 

OR  THE  STORY  OF  BRUNHILDE. 


Wotan  and  the  other  g-iants  lived  for  a 
time  very  happily  in  the  splendid  Wal- 
halla. 

The  palace  was  very  beautiful.  The 
windows  were  so  large  that  they  seemed 
to  let  almost  all  the  sunshine  in  the  sky 
into  the  halls.  The  floors  were  of  polished 
silver,  and  the  walls  were  of  solid  gold, 
set  with  rubies,  sapphires,  emeralds,  and 
diamonds. 

The  grounds  which  surrounded  Walhalla 
were  even  more  beautiful  than  the  palace 
itself.  There  were  trees  so  tall  that  it 
seemed  as  if  the  branches  must  almost 
touch  the  sky;  and  their  trunks  were  so 
large  that  it  took  Wotan   and  six  other 


DIE        W    A     L     K     U    R     E     . 

g^iants,  all  taking"  hold  of  hands,  to  reach 
around  one  of  them. 

Besides  these  wonderful  shade  trees, 
which  had  been  growing-  for  hundreds  of 
years,  there  were  great  trees  which  bore 
delicious  fruit  all  the  year  round. 

Then,  too,  there  were  large,  cool  lakes, 
and  the  queerest  boats,  in  which  the  giants 
would  often  ride. 

With  these  beautiful  surroundings  the 
giants  were  very  happy.  All  except  Wo- 
tan.  Every  night  they  would  sit  out  un- 
der the  trees  and  listen  to  sweet  music  and 
feast  upon  the  golden  apples  given  them 
by  the  sister.  These  golden  apples,  you 
know,  kept  them  always  young. 

Very  often  the  giants  would  ask  their 
king  why  he  was  so  sad. 

"Alas,  I  am  afraid  I  have  paid  too 
dearly  for  Walhalla, "  was  the  mournful 

reply. 

54 


DIE        W    A     L     K     U    R     E 


"Do  not  think  so  much  about  that  but 
enjoy  its  beauties,"  said  his  brother. 

But  Wotan  would  not  be  comforted,  for 
it  seemed  to  him  as  if  a  voice  was  always 
whispering  to  him:  "Cursed  is  the  gold! 
Only  sorrow  will  follow  him  who  pos- 
sesses it." 

"Unhappiness  and  sorrow  are  sure  to 
come  to  our  home, "  thought  he,  "so  I  must 
prepare  for  it.  I  must  find  a  means  of  de- 
fense or  some  day  Walhalla  and  all  its 
beauties  will  be  destroyed.  I  will  take  my 
magic  spear  and  go  to  find  protection,  even 
though  I  have  to  travel  around  the  whole 
world." 

Therefore,  one  dark  night,  taking  with 
him  his  magic  spear,  Wotan  left  Wal- 
halla. 

This  spear  was  very  wonderful,  for  with 
it  Wotan  ruled  the  whole  world.  It  was  a 
magician's  spear,  and  with  it  in  his  hands 

55 


DIE        W    A     L    K    U    R    E     : 

he  had  but  to  command  and  the  whole 
earth  obeyed.  Should  this  spear  be  broken 
Wotan  could  no  long'er  rule  the  world. 
Many  swords  had  battled  with  it,  but 
only  to  be  shattered  and  broken,  while  the 
spear  had  not  even  a  scratch  upon  it. 

There  was  g'reat  excitement  among"  the 
giants  the  next  morning  when  they  found 
their  king  had  left  them.  All  that  day 
they  searched  for  him,  but  in  vain.  He 
was  nowhere  to  be  found.  Night  came, 
and  still  there  was  no  trace  of  him. 

"Look  and  see  if  he  has  taken  the  magic 
spear,"  said  one  of  the  g"iants. 

They  looked,  and  it  was  g"one! 

"We  need  not  expect  him  home  for 
weeks,  even  months,  and  perhaps  years," 
said  his  wife,  "for  when  Wotan  goes  away 
and  takes  his  spear,  it  means  that  he  has 
started  on  a  long  journey." 

And  sure  enough!     The  days  grew  into 

56 


DIE        W    A     L     K     U    R     E     . 

weeks,  and  the  weeks  into  months.  Still 
Wotan  did  not  return.  The  months  grew 
slowly  into  years,  and  years  passed  by. 
Still  the  king-  came  not  to  "VValhalla! 

Many  of  the  giants  began  to  think  he 
would  never  return.  But  the  years  to 
them  did  not  mean  what  a  year  means  to 
us.  They  could  live  for  hundreds  of  years, 
and  so  long  as  they  had  the  golden  apples 
to  feast  upon,  they  never  grew  old.  Still, 
the  time  seemed  very  long  to  them  while 
their  king  stayed  away. 

"Walhalla  seems  very  gloomy  now," 
said  one  of  the  giants  as  he  laid  down  to 
sleep  one  night.  "I  wonder  what  Wotan 
will  bring  with  him  when  he  returns.  He 
never  wanders  upon  the  earth  for  so  long 
a  time,  leaving'  us  lonely  here  upon  the 
mountain,  without  bringing  back  some- 
thing which  adds  much  to  our  comfort," 
said  another  giant. 


DIE        W    A     L     K     U    R     E     . 

\ 

-  ■ — —  1 

I 

In  a  short  time  all  was  quiet  and  peace-         \ 
ful  in  the  palace.     The  moon  kept  watch         ' 
while  the  giants  slept.     But  about  mid- 
night they  were  awakened  by  some  mar- 
velous singing. 

The  giants  started  up. 

"That  must  be  Wotan!"  they  said. 
"Listen,  it  seems  to  come  nearer." 

"No,  no,  that  is  not  his  song!" 

"Who  can  it  be!" 

"Hark!  Hark!  how  different  it  sounds 
from  our  music!" 

All  the  giants  sprang  to  their  feet  and 
stood  breathless,  listening.  And  this  is 
what  they  heard: 


r   flT'^-rr-] 


RIDE  OF  THE  WALKURE. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  music,  and 
clearer  and  clearer  rang  out  the  song. 
Soon  the  giants  could  see  their  king. 

58 


DIE        W    A     L     K     U    R     E     . 

But  he  is  not  alone!  He  has  people 
with  him!  And  they  have  horses,  and 
look!  look!  the  horses  have  wings  and  are 
flying! 

See,  there  are  nine  horses,  and  on  each 
horse  is  seated  a  beautiful  maiden! 

By  this  time  Wotan  and  nine  maidens 
dashed  up  to  the  palace  steps,  and  sprang 
from  their  horses. 

Each  maiden  was  dressed  in  silver  ar- 
mour which  glistened  and  sparkled  in  the 
moonlight;  each  held  a  large  glittering 
shield,  while  on  their  heads  were  bright 
shining  helmets,  on  each  of  which  were 
two  golden  wings. 

"Why  did  you  bring  all  these  maid- 
ens to  Walhalla?"  demanded  Wotan's 
wife. 

"These  are  the  great  War-Maidens. 
Mounted  on  their  winged  horses  they  are 
to  go  to  the  places  where  wars  are  wag- 

59 


DIE         W    A     L    K     U    R    E    . 

ing-.  They  will  ride  into  the  thick  of  the 
battles,  and  bring  the  bravest  of  all  the 
heroes  here.  Then  we  shall  be  protected, 
and  our  palace  free  from  harm.  " 

As  Wotan  said  this  the  War-Maidens 
sprang  on  their  horses  and  rode  round  and 
round  Walhalla,  singing  their  song  all  the 
whilet 


The  horses'  feet  never  touched  the 
ground,  but  with  their  powerful  wings 
they  flew  more  swiftly  than  eagles. 

Each  one  of  these  War-Maidens  had  a 
name,  but  this  story  is  about  one  of  them 
only,  and  her  name  was  Brunhilde.  They 
were  all  very  dear  to  Wotan,  but  he  felt  a 
more  tender  love  for  Brunhilde  than  for 
any  of  the  others.  She  was  the  most 
beautiful  because  she  was  braver  and 
stronger  than  any  of  her  sisters. 

60 


DIE         W    A     L     K     U    R     E 


Not  a  day  passed  but  some  of  the  maid- 
ens rode  into  a  battle  and  brought  back 
a  brave  hero,  and  quite  often  all  went,  so 
that  before  long-  Walhalla  was  filled  with 
the  bravest  heroes  of  the  earth.  Brun- 
hilde  and  her  sisters  were  always  allowed 
to  choose  for  themselves  the  hero  whom 
they  would  bring,  and  they  had  never 
made  a  mistake.  No  one  had  ever  been 
brought,  over  whom  Wotan  did  not 
rejoice. 

Now  there  were  so  many  brave  warriors 
about  the  king  that  he  had  less  fear  of 
Alberich's  curse.  Still  he  never  quite  for- 
got it. 

Wotan  had  many  friends  upon  the  earth 
and  he  often  sent  Brunhilde  to  bring  one 
to  Walhalla.  Fricka,  his  wife,  also  had 
friends  upon  the  earth,  but  her  friends 
were  not  always  among  the  most  truthful 
men.     One  friend  in  particular  was  very 

61 


DIE         W    A     L     K     U    R    E    . 

dear  to  her,  and  she  often  begged  her  hus- 
band to  have  him  brought  to  the  palace, 
but  Wotan  always  had  some  reason  for  not 
sending  for  him. 

By  and  by  a  great  quarrel  arose  between 
Fricka's  friend  and  a  brave  friend  of  Wo- 
tan's.  This  gave  the  king  much  unhap- 
piness.  Pricka  came  to  him  and  again 
demanded  to  have  her  friend  brought. 

"Do  you  not  know,  Wotan,"  she  said, 
"that  your  friend  has  not  been  true  to  all 
the  laws,  and  could  you,  knowing  that, 
have  him  brought  to  Walhalla?'' 

Wotan,  after  a  hard  struggle  with  him- 
self told  her  that  in  that  respect  she  was 
right,  and  he  would  give  the  victory  to 
her  friend. 

King  Wotan  was  now  very  unhappy. 
Nevertheless  he  called  Brunhilde  to  him 
and  told  her  all  about  this  terrible  quar- 
rel,— a  quarrel  which  had  resulted  in  a 

62 


DIE        W    A     L    K     U    R    E    . 

battle  so  fierce  that  thousands  had  taken 
sides  in  it  and  were  now  fighting". 

"Now,  my  brave  War-Maiden,  mount 
your  horse!  Fly  at  once  to  the  battle  and 
bring  to  our  palace  my  wife's  friend. " 

"But,  Wotan,  what  troubles  you?  I 
never  saw  you  look  so  sad  when  sending 
me  tor  a  hero,"  said  Brunhilde. 

"I  never  loved  another  as  I  love  my 
friend  and  it  makes  me  sad  indeed  to  feel 
that  I  cannot  have  him  brought  here  to 
live  in  our  beautiful  Walhalla." 

"Let  me  bring  your  friend,  father, 
since  you  love  him  so  dearly, "  said 
Brunhilde. 

"No,  he  has  sinned,  and  I  have  made  the 
promise  to  my  wife.  Go  at  once,  and  be- 
fore sunset  bring  my  wife's  friend." 

Brunhilde  mounted  her  winged  horse  and 
was  out  of  sight  in  a  moment.  They  flew 
through  the  air,  over  mountain  after  moun- 

63 


DIE         W    A     L     K     U    R    E    . 

tain.     Soon    she    heard    the    clashing   of 
swords. 

"Stop,  my  horsel  Down  here  is  the 
battle,"  said  she. 

Then  the  horse  flew  straight  to  the 
earth. 

Brunhilde  had  never  before  seen  such  a 
terrible  battle.  It  seemed  to  her  as  if 
Wotan's  friend  was  by  far  the  bravest  and 
truest  hero  that  she  had  ever  seen.  For 
one  instant  she  hesitated  and  then  with  a 
cry  sprang  forward  to  give  the  victory  to 
him.  Suddenly  a  cloud  as  red  as  fire  ap- 
peared, with  Wotan  and  his  spear  in  the 
middle  of  it. 

Wotan  sprang  in  front  of  Brunhilde  and 
stretched  out  his  terrible  spear.  His  friend 
at  that  moment  had  raised  his  sword  to 
strike  the  enemy.  Crash  went  the  sword, 
broken  in  two  pieces,  for  it  had  hit  Wo- 
tan's mighty  spear. 

64 


DIE         W    A     L     K     U    R    E    . 

So  the  battle  was  over  and  the  victory- 
lost. 

Wotan  was  so  furious  that  the  whole 
earth  shook  with  his  angry  words.  Brun- 
hilde  was  terrified,  but  she  could  not  re- 
sist picking  up  the  broken  sword.  As  she 
did  so  a  mysterious  voice  whispered  to  her, 
"Nothung  is  the  name  of  the  sword.  It  is 
to  be  given  to  the  hero  who  knows  no 
fear." 

'  'Brunhilde, "  shouted  Wotan,  '  'go  at  once 
to  Walhalla  and  await  me  there." 

She  mounted  her  horse  and  was  soon 
back  at  the  palace.  Her  sisters  were  wait- 
ing for  her. 

"Quick!  sisters!  take  this  broken  sword 
and  give  it  to  the  hero  who  knows  no  fear. " 

Again  the  sky  was  ablaze  as  with  a 
great  fire.  Then  Wotan  appeared,  bring- 
ing Fricka's  friend  to  Walhalla. 

"Come    hither,    Brunhilde!"'    thundered 

()5 


DIE        W    A     L    K    U    R    E    . 

Wotan.  '  'With  your  horse  and  your  shield 
follow  me  to  the  side  of  the  mountain. " 

Much  frightened,  she  obeyed. 

"Leave  your  horse,  lay  down  your  shield 
and  stand  before  me." 

"Father,  father,  what  have  I  done?" 

"You  have  dared  to  disobey  the  king  of 
all  giants,  Wotan  the  Mighty,  who  rules 
the  earth,  and  you  must  be  punished  for  it. " 

"But  Wotan,  I  tried  to  save  the  one  you 
love,"  cried  Brunhilde,  kneeling  at  his  feet. 

"Oh!  my  friend,  my  friend,"  mourned 
Wotan,  and  he  bowed  his  head  in  his  hands. 

Thus  he  sat  a  long  time,  and  neither  he 
nor  Brunhilde  moved  or  spoke.  After  a 
time  he  raised  his  head.  The  anger  was 
all  gone  from  his  face  and  his  voice  was 
gentle  as  he  said  sadly  to  the  maiden: 

"Brunhilde,  my  best  beloved,  most  beau- 
tiful War-Maiden,  I  must  punish  you.  Look 
up  into  my  face  while  I  tell  you  what  your 

66 


DIE         W    A     L     K     U    R     E    . 

punishment  must  be.  You  have  disobeyed 
me  so  I  must  send  you  from  Walhalla.  You 
can  be  a  War-Maiden  no  longer.  Yester- 
day you  brought  your  last  brave  hero  to 
our  palace.  Now  you  will  have  to 
live  like  any  other  woman  upon  the 
earth." 

"Oh  father,  father,  anything-  but  that! 
Do  not  make  me  leave  Walhalla!" 

"Yes,  my  Brunhilde,  it  must  be  so.  I 
shall  put  you  to  sleep  and  the  first  one 
who  kisses  you  will  awaken  you,  and  you 
will  come  to  Walhalla  no  more." 

"One  thing  I  ask,  my  father!  Will  3'ou 
not  place  me  in  some  spot  where  none  but 
a  hero  can  reach  me?  Surely  you  will  not 
deny  me  this,  "  pleaded  Brunhilde. 

"No,  my  War-Maiden,"  answered  he 
sadly.  "I  will  not  deny  your  request.  I 
will  place  you  where  only  the  hero  who 
knows  no  fear  can  awaken  you." 

67 


DIEWALKURE. 

And  as  he  spoke  Wotan  lifted  Brunhilde 
in  his  strong-  arms,  picked  up  the  shield, 
and  telling  her  horse  to  follow,  he  carried 
her,  his  beautiful  War-Maiden,  to  a  large 
smooth  rock  and  laid  her  upon  it. 

"Here,  Brunhilde,  on  the  top  of  this 
lofty  mountain,  you  are  to  await  the  hero 
who  knows  no  fear.  Sit  up  and  look  for 
the  last  time  at  Walhalla.  Think  of  what 
it  has  cost  me.  All  my  happiness!  Prom- 
ise me,  my  daughter,  after  the  hero  awak- 
ens you,  you  will  ever  be  brave  and  true. 
If  you  are,  your  life  will  be  filled  with 
a  happiness  which  far  exceeds  anything  I 
have  ever  known,  living-  in  yonder  marble 
halls." 

"Yes,  my  father,  I  promise.  I  will  be 
brave  and  true,"  and  Brunhilde  for  the 
last  time  gazed  upon  the  towers  and 
turrets    of    the    beautiful   white    marble 

palace. 

68 


DIE         W    A     L     K     U    R    E    . 

"Wotan,  may  my  brave  horse  stay  with 
me?"  said  she,  as  she  laid  down. 

"Yes,  your  horse,  the  trees,  the  grass, 
and  the  flowers  which  surround  you  shall 
sleep.  It  will  be  very  hard  for  anyone  to 
reach  you,  my  daughter,  for  I  shall  call  on 
the  fire  to  come  and  encircle  this  spot. 
Goodbye,  my  brave  War-Maiden,"  and  as 
he  said  this  he  stooped  and  kissed  her. 
Instantly  she  fell  asleep  as  did  her  winged 
steed,  the  trees,  and  the  flowers.  At  that 
moment  the  sweetest  slumber  music  could 
be  heard.  Softer  and  sweeter  it  g'reAV  as 
she  slept.  A  sweet  smile  spread  over  her 
face.  She  had  done  what  she  thought  was 
right,  and  though  she  was  no  more  a  War- 
Maiden,  she  still  was  and  will  always  be 
the  heroic  Brunhilde. 


^ 


•'^^    J  r  r  -^ 


O!^ 


SLUMBER  MOTIVE. 
69 


DIE        W    A    L    K     U    R    E    . 

Wotan  took  his  spear  and  with  it  marked 
a   magic   circle   about  the   sleeping"   one. 

« 

Then  lifting"  it  high  in  the  air  he  called 
upon  the  fire.  Instantly  it  came  and  sur- 
rounded his  beloved  companion  and  daug"h- 
ter.  Great  red  flames  shot  up  almost  to 
the  sky.  The  fire  crackled  and  roared, 
but  Brunhilde  still  slumbered. 

Wotan  walked  slowly  and  sadly  back  to 
Walhalla,  and  again  he  heard  the  curse, 
"Only  sorrow  and  unhappiness  shall  fol- 
low him  who  possesses  the  ring." 

Day  after  day,  week  after  week,  and 
year  after  year  rolled  by.  Still  Brunhilde 
slept,  awaiting  the  hero  who  knew  no  fear 
who  was  to  come  and  waken  her. 


70 


i^-* 


SIEGFRIED 


SIEGFRIED. 


I. 

Long-,  long-,  indeed,  seemed  the  days  to 
Wotan.  Again  and  again  did  his  thoughts 
carry  him  back  to  the  day  when  Walhalla 
first  stood  before  him  in  all  its  splendid 
beauty.  Many  were  the  times  when  in  his 
memory  the  g-reat  frost  giant,  Fafner, 
stood  before  him  demanding-  all  the  gold, 
even  the  ring.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
days  seemed  long  to  him? 

But  everything-  was  different  with  Faf- 
ner, for  he  now  had  what  he  had  always 
desired, — a  great  pile  of  g^old  and  magic 
power.  He  very  seldom  thought  of  Wal- 
halla. His  thoughts  were  of  nothing  but 
the  gold. 

First  he  carried  his  treasure, — the  gold, 
the  magic  helmet,  and  the  fated  ring-, — far 


5       I      E      G      F      R      I      E      D       . 

away  to  his  own  country.  But  hardly  had  he 
reached  his  home  when  he  realized  that  the 
gold  would  not  be  safe,  for  at  any  moment 
some  one  might  come  and  steal  it  away. 

Again  he  gathered  up  his  treasure  and 
started  to  look  over  all  the  world  to  find 
the  best  and  safest  place  for  it.  The  jour- 
ney would  have  seemed  very  long  to  us, 
but  to  him  it  was  the  work  of  only  three 
or  four  days,  for  with  a  single  step  he 
could  cover  miles  of  distance. 

River  after  river  he  crossed,  stepping 
over  many  a  high  mountain,  speeding 
across  far  reaching  plains  and  deserts,  till 
at  last  he  came  to  a  great  dark  forest^ 
The  forest  was  dark  because  the  trees 
grew  so  close  to  one  another  that  their 
branches  overlapped  and  kept  out  the  sun- 
light. In  some  places,  however,  the  trees 
were  not  so  close,  and  there  the  sun  shone 
warm  and  bright  all  the  day. 

74 


S       I      E      G      F      R      I      E      D       . 

This  forest  was  the  home  of  many  fierce 
•wild  animals,  especially  of  bears. 

"Ha,  ha!"  exclaimed  Fafner,  as  he 
looked  about  him.  "Here  I  can  live  with 
my  gold.  No  one  will  be  apt  to  come  into 
this  wild  place." 

So  he  pushed  his  way  into  the  dark  for- 
est until  he  came  to  a  deep,  black  cave. 
All  the  time  he  held  close  to  him  the  bags 
which  contained  his  treasure. 

"Just  the  place!"  said  he,  as  he  peered 
into  the  cave.  "Here  I  will  stay  day  and 
night  with  my  gold.  In  this  doorway  I 
will  sit  forever  to  guard  my  hoard. '' 

As  he  sat  there  he  heard  the  lions  roar- 
ing, the  bears  growling  and  the  leaves 
rustling  as  they  talked  to  the  wind.  Faf- 
ner's  face  looked  more  like  shadow  than 
sunlight  as  he  crouched  near  his  gold. 

"Some  wanderer  might  possibly  pass  by 
my  cave,"  thought  he,  "and  in  some  way 

75 


'mu 


5       I      E      G      F      R      I      E      D       . 

discover  my  gold  and  steal  it.     What  can 
I  do  to  make  it  more  safe." 

Suddenly  his  face  changed.  Jumping 
up  he  grasped  the  magic  helmet. 

"I  know  what  I  will  do.  I  will  put  this 
helmet  on  my  head  and  change  into  a  dra- 
gon, so  great  and  fierce  and  ugly  that  no 
one  will  dare  come  near  me." 

And  all  for  the  sake  of  the  gold,  he  put 
on  the  magic  helmet  and  the  change  came. 
He  was  no  longer  the  great  frost  giant, 
but  a  fierce  and  terrible  dragon.  He  did 
not  stand  erect  and  mighty  like  the  great 
giant  that  he  had  been,  but  lay  squirming 
and  twisting, — a  huge,  awful  serpent. 

He  was  more  terrible  than  you  can  im- 
agine. His  body  was  somewhat  like  that 
of  a  whale,  while  his  skin  was  covered 
with  slimy  green  scales.  His  tail  was 
long  and  pointed,  and  in  the  end  was  a 
sting  of  deadly  poison. 

76 


5       I      E      G      F      R      I      E      D       . 

His  teeth  were  sharp  like  a  saw,  and 
he  breathed  out  fiery  smoke  so  hot  and 
poisonous  that  should  it  touch  anyone  it 
would  kill  him  instantly. 

This  was  what  the  frost  giant,  the 
mighty  Fafner,  changed  himself  into  for  a 
pile  of  gold! 

Meantime,  Alberich  and  all  the  other 
Nibelungs  were  having  a  very  uncom- 
fortable, unhappy  time,  for  each  one  was 
trying  to  think  how  he  could  manage  to 
get  possession  of  the  gold  again,  Albe- 
rich's  face  seemed  to  grow  blacker  and 
blacker  each  day,  and  he  was  so  cross 
and  ugly  that  no  one  dared  to  go  near 
him. 

Mime,  Alberich's  brother,  was  also  plot- 
ting and  planning  how  he  could  steal 
away  the  gold. 

The  Nibelungs  in  one  way  were  not  so 
afraid  of  Mime  as  they  were  of  Alberich 

77 


SIEGFRIED. 

for  he  did  not  frighten  them  with  such  ter- 
rible threats.  But  he  was  very  sly  and 
untruthful,  so  they  could  never  believe 
anything  he  said.  One  day  there  was 
great  excitement  in  this  underground 
kingdom,  for  Mime  was  missing.  They 
searched  in  every  place,  but  nowhere  was 
he  to  be  found.  Then  Alberich  was  still 
uglier  for  he  felt  sure  Mime  was  in  some 
way  going  to  find  the  gold,  and  he  wanted 
to  get  it  for  himself. 

The  night  before,  when  all  were  asleep, 
Mime  had  silently  stolen  away  from  his 
underground  home.  He  had  taken  with  him 
a  number  of  his  tools  that  he  might  still 
forge  chains  and  swords  and  many  other 
things  which  a  blacksmith  makes. 

These  ugly  little  Nibelungs  had  a  queer, 
sly  way  of  finding  out  all  sorts  of  things 
which  were  not  meant  for  them  to  know. 
No  one  ever  knew  how  they  learned  these 

78 


SIEGFRIED. 

thing's,  strange,  sly  little  dwarfs  that  they 
were.  It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
they  heard  strange  earth  voices  speaking 
to  them  when  no  one  else  could  hear.  It 
must  have  been  in  some  such  way  as  this 
that  Mime  found  out  about  the  fated  gold, 
because,  although  he  did  not  know  just 
where  it  was,  he  did  know  that  in  a  dark 
forest  somewhere  Fafner,  in  the  shape  of 
a  huge  dragon,  was  guarding  it.  And  so, 
in  hopes  of  stealing  the  gold,  Mime  came 
from  his  dark,  dreary  home  to  live  above 
the  earthj 

He  wandered  many  days  before  he  could 
find  any  trace  of  the  dragon.  It  was  in 
the  Springtime,  and  the  earth  was  just 
budding  into  new  beauty.  The  flowers 
were  in  bloom  and  giving  out  their  sweet- 
est perfume.  The  trees  had  just  put  out 
new  leaves,  while  hidden  in  their  branches 
were  many  little  nests  in  which  sat  mother 

79 


SIEGFRIED. 

birds   upon  the   eg-gs,   soon  to  tell  their 
secret. 

The  whole  earth  rang-  with  the  glad, 
joyous  song-  of  Springtime.  But  Mime  did 
not  notice  any  of  these  beauties,  for  there 
was  no  Springtime  in  his  heart.  All  his 
thoughts  were  of  the  gold  and  the  magic 


^&' 


At  last  he  succeeded  in  finding  the  cave 
in  which  lived  the  fearful  dragon  guarding- 
the  fated  gold.  Mime  often  crouched  for 
hours  in  some  dark  part  of  the  forest,  try- 
ing to  plan  some  way  to  gain  possession 
of  the  g-old  and  the  ring.  But  he  knew, 
deep  down  in  his  heart,  that  he,  himself, 
could  never  kill  the  dragon,  for  he  was  a 
coward,  and  one  must  be  without  fear  to 
dare  face  such  a  monster. 

At  last  Mime's  plans  were  completed. 
He  had  decided  to  find  a  cave  in  another 
part  of  the  forest  and  there  spend  his  days 

80 


SIEGFRIED. 

forging  a  sword  strong  enough  to  slay  the 
dragon. 

"But  I  will  not  dare  go  near  enough  to 
kill  him  even  though  I  may  forge  a  sword 
stout  enough  to  pierce  his  heart, "  thought 
he.  "Ah!  now  I  have  it!  There  in  my  cave 
I  will  work  day  and  night  until  a  sword 
shall  be  made  which  no  human  power  can 
break.  Then  I  will  wait  until  a  hero, 
strong  and  brave,  shall  come  through  the 
forest.  I  will  deceive  him  so  that  he  will 
kill  for  me  the  dragon,  and  then — then  I 
will  destroy  the  hero,  and  the  gold  shall 
be  mine!" 

As  Mime  said  this  his  face  looked  blacker 
and  more  repulsive  than  before.  Very  lit- 
tle time  was  lost  before  he  was  settled  in 
a  cave  in  another  part  of  the  forest.  Here 
he  heaped  a  pile  of  stones,  and  on  them 
placed  his  anvil,  while  near  by  he  made  a 
forge  of  large,  rough  rocks  which  were 
near  at  hand.  81 


SIEGFRIED. 

Many  days  and  nights  the  queer  little 
Nibelung-  spent  trying  to  forge  the  sword 
of  which  he  had  dreamed,  but  it  was  in 
vain,  for  when  he  struck  the  sword  upon 
a  stone,  it  would  break  into  pieces.  Often 
tired  and  almost  discouraged  with  his 
wicked  work,  Mime  would  walk  sometimes 
far  into  the  forest,  but  this  he  never  en- 
joyed, for  the  growling  of  the  bears,  and 
the  roaring  of  the  lions  struck  terror  to  his 
cowardly  heart. 

However,  one  morning  he  ventured  a  lit- 
tle farther  than  usual  into  the  woods, 
hoping  he  might  in  some  way  learn  how 
to  make  the  sword.  Suddenly  he  stopped, 
for  he  heard  a  cry  like  that  of  a  little 
baby.  He  listened,  and  again  the  same 
cry  was  heard.  His  first  thought  was  to 
run  back  to  his  cave.  Then  he  decided  to 
find  whence  came  the  cry.  He  did  not  have 
to   go   far,  for   almost  at  his   feet   lay  a 

82 


SIEGFRIED. 

little  baby  boy,  hardly  more  than  a  day 
old. 

There  was  something"  in  the  child's  face 
which  made  Mime  know  that  when  he  was 
grown  to  manhood  he  would  be  one  of 
earth's  bravest  heroes.  Stooping  to  look 
more  closely  at  the  baby,  Mime's  eyes 
caught  sight  of  a  broken  sword,  and  he 
knew  at  once  that  this  sword,  when 
mended,  would  be  the  weapon  of  his 
dreams,  for  it  was  large  and  sharp  and 
made  of  the  strongest  steel  in  the  world. 

He  thought  for  a  moment,  then  said  "I 
will  take  the  baby,  bring  him  up  to  be  a 
strong  man  and  then  have  him,  with  this 
sword,  slay  the  dragon.  Afterwards  I  can 
in  some  way  rid  myself  of  him,  and  the 
gold  and  the  ring  will  be  mine!" 

So  he  lifted  the  beautiful  baby  boy  in 
his  arms,  picked  up  the  broken  sword,  and 
was  about  to  start  for  his  cave  when  he 

83 


SIEGFRIED, 

heard  a  mysterious  voice  say  "Siegfried  is 
the  name  of  the  child,  and  Nothung  the 
name  of  the  magic  sword,  and  only  he  who 
knows  no  fear  can  weld  it  together." 

Mime  looked  all  about  him  to  see  whence 
came  the  voice,  but  no  one  could  be  seen. 
Again  it  was  heard,  fainter  and  farther 
away  this  time,  "Siegfried  is  the  name  of 
the  child,  and  Nothung  the  name  of  the 
magic  sword,  and  only  he  who  knows  no 
fear  can  weld  it  together." 

"Aha!"  laughed  Mime,  "whoever  it  is 
that  spoke,  does  not  know  of  my  cunning 
work.  I  can  easily  mend  the  sword! 
Magic,  magic, "  he  chuckled  as  he  turned 
away  with  the  baby  and  the  sword  in  his 
arms.  "Magic!  So  much  the  better!  All 
the  more  confident  now,  am  I,  that  when 
mended  it  will  pierce  the  heart  of  the 
dragon. " 

The  first  thing  Mime  did  on  reaching  the 

84 


SIEGFRIED. 

cave  was  to  hide  the  sword  where  he  was 
quite  sure  it  would  never  be  discovered. 
Next  he  brought  skins  and  placed  them 
on  a  huge,  hollow  log.  This  was  the  baby's 
bed. 

"I  will  be  as  good  as  I  can  to  the  child, 
and  give  him  the  right  kind  of  food,  so 
that  he  may  grow  up  to  be  of  use  to  me," 
thought  the  dwarf. 

How  different  this  baby's  life  was  from 
the  lives  of  our  babies!  He  had  no  loving 
mother  to  sing  him  to  sleep  at  night  and 
to  comfort  him  when  he  felt  unhappy  over 
some  little  sorrow,  and  above  all,  to  tell 
him  strange,  wonderful  stories  of  brave 
heroes  who  had  given  their  lives  to  pro- 
tect weaker  ones. 

He  never  saw  anyone  but  Mime, — never 
knew  that  anyone  else  lived  but  the  strange 
little  Nibelung. 

Mime,  however,  was  as  kind  to  the  baby, 

85 


SIEGFRIED. 

in  his  rough  way,  as  he  knew  how  to  be. 
Every  morning  when  the  sun  was  shining 
he  would  carry  him  out  of  the  cave  and 
place  him  under  the  trees  that  he  might 
lie  and  kick  out  his  little  limbs  and, 
breathing  in  the  fresh  forest  air,  listen  to 
the  merry  songs  of  the  birds  as  they  flew 
through  the  blue  sky  far  above  the  tops  of 
the  trees. 

Mime  now  very  seldom  left  his  cave,  and 
day  after  day  could  be  heard  his  strange, 
unhappy  song. 


p^' '.'  rm'  r  \ 


:jHE 


NIBELUNG   MOTIVE. 

He  had  but  one  thought  now,  and  that 
was  of  the  baby  growing  to  a  strong  man 
that  he  might  kill  the  dragon.  So  he 
watched  with  great  interest  the  growth 
of  the  child.     Each  day  little  Siegfried 

86 


SIEGFRIED. 

grew  stronger  and  stronger  so  that  before 
long  he  could  walk.  Then  came  very- 
happy  days  for  him. 

He  would  wander  into  the  forests  quite 
away  from  the  cave  and  sit  and  listen  to 
the  wind  as  it  whispered  to  the  trees. 
Often  a  little  baby  bear  would  come  up  to 
him  and  play  with  him  for  hours  at  a 
time.  Sometimes  the  mother  bear  would 
come  and  lie  on  the  grass  nearby,  watch- 
ing the  young  child  playing  with  her  baby, 
but  she  never  thought  of  doing  him  any 
harm. 

Day  by  day  Siegfried  grew  more  beauti- 
ful. His  little  arms  and  legs  grew  stronger, 
his  body  more  erect,  and  his  golden  hair 
fell  like  sunbeams  about  his  baby  face 
which  each  day  had  more  strength  in  it. 

He  was  clothed  in  real  forest  dress,  con- 
sisting of  a  little  fur  shirt,  and  skin  sandals 
on  his  feet.     Mime  had  made  for  him  a 

87 


5" 


G      F      R 


D 


silver  horn  which  he  wore  swung  over  his 
shoulders.  With  this  horn  he  could  call 
the  birds  and  play  to  the  bears  which 
were  his  constant  companions.  Often 
would  that  part  of  the  forest  ring  with 
the  glad,  happy  notes  of  his  silver  horn. 


HORN  MOTIVE. 


Not  only  did  the  birds  and  bears  respond 
to  the  call,  but  the  mother  foxes  would 
come  with  their  little  ones,  and  the  wolves 
with  their  cubs.  They  would  nestle  close 
to  the  young  boy  while  he  played  on  his 
horn  for  them.  They  felt  his  courage  and 
loved  him  for  it. 

Happy,  indeed,  were  these  days  to  the 
young  Siegfried,  and  this  is  the  way  the 
music  told  of  them: 

88 


6- 


F      R 


D 


m 


ip^ 


2=4: 


mirfrif|r'rrifff|ffg|f 


SIEGFRIED   AS    A   LITTLE   BOY    (SIEGFRIED 

MTF.) 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  grew  up 
to  be  all  that  even  the  grasping-  Mime 
could  desire?  Never  was  such  a  hero  seen 
before.  One  bright  sunny  morning,  tri- 
umphant in  the  strength  of  his  young 
manhood,  Siegfried  stood  before  Mime, 
demanding  a  sword  so  strong  that  he 
could  not  break  it. 

Mime  was  such  a  cowardly  dwarf  that 
the  brave  youth  could  not  do  otherwise 
than  despise  him,  and  he  very  seldom 
stayed  in  the  cave.  This  was  the  reason 
he  demanded  a  strong  sword,  for  he  was 
planning  to  leave  Mime  and  the  forest  and 
see  something  of  the  world,  but  he  would 
not  go  without  some  means  of  defense. 

89 


SIEGFRIED. 

"The  sword  must  be  made  by  the  time  I 
return,"  said  the  youth  as  he  disappeared 
in  the  forest. 

"Now  is  my  time!  At  last,  at  last,  the 
gold  will  be  mine!"  cried  Mime. 

Cautiously  he  crept  to  the  place  where 
the  broken  sword  had  been  laid  away  for 
so  many  years.  Again  he  heard  the 
words,  "It  is  a  magic  sword,  and  only 
he  who  knows  no  fear  can  weld  it  to- 
gether." 

"That  voice  does  not  know  of  my  cun- 
ning as  a  smith,"  laughed  Mime,  as  he 
hastened  to  the  bellows. 

He  blew  the  fire  to  a  white  heat  and 
plunged  the  sword  in,  and  made  ready  his 
hammer  and  anvil.  Then  drawing  the 
sword  from  the  fire  he  pounded  it  as  he 
had  never  pounded  before,  trying  to  wield 
it  together.  But  to  his  horror  he  could 
make  no  impression  upon  it.     Again  the 

90 


SIEGFRIED. 

voice,  "Only  he  who  knows  no  fear  can 
weld  it  tog-ether. " 

"Alas,  alas!"  cried  Mime,  "I  can  never 
do  it.  Whom  now  can  I  get  to  mend  me 
the  sword?" 

Again  and  again  did  he  try,  but  it  was 
of  no  use. 

Meanwhile  Siegfried  had  gone  far  into 
the  forest  and  thrown  himself  upon  the 
ground.  Putting  his  horn  to  his  lips  he 
called  to  his  friends,  the  forest  beasts  and 
birds.  Soon  he  was  answered  by  singing 
birds,  huge  bears,  cunning  foxes,  and 
wolves.  Each  mother  that  day  had 
brought  her  babies  with  her.  Siegfried 
said  very  little  to  them,  for  he  was  think- 
ing strange  sweet  thoughts. 

"How  kind  all  the  forest  beasts  are  to 
their  little  ones,  and  the  babies  look  just 
like  their  mother  and  father.  Who  is  my 
mother?"  cried  Siegfried. 

91 


SIEGFRIED. 

With  this  he  sprang  up  and  ran  to  a 
stream  close  by  and  looked  in.  There  he 
saw  his  own  image  reflected.  Large, 
strong,  and  erect  was  his  body;  pure,  true, 
and  brave  was  his  face.  Long  he  stood 
gazing  at  his  reflection  in  the  water  and 
thinking  "Why  should  not  I  look  like  my 
mother  and  father?  All  the  forest  crea- 
tures do.  I  am  no  longer  a  boy.  I  am  a 
man,  and  this  very  day  I  will  make  Mime 
tell  me  who  I  am,  and  who  my  parents  are. 
He  cannot  be  my  father,  for  I  do  not  look 
at  all  like  him.  Mime  is  cowardly  and  sly, 
but  the  sight  of  a  bear  will  frighten  him 
so  that  he  will  not  dare  tell  me  anything 
but  the  truth. " 

Again  he  blew  his  horn  and  a  great 
black  bear  came  running  up  to  him.  Sieg- 
fried fastened  a  rope  about  the  bear's  neck, 
and  together  they  started  for  the  cave  in 
which  dwelt  the  cowardly  Mime,  who  would 

92 


SIEGFRIED. 

so  soon  have  to  tell  Siegfried  who  he  was 
and  why  he  was  living'  in  the  forests  with 
a  little  ugly  sly  dwarf,  when  he  himself 
was  so  brave  and  true. 


93 


SIEGFRIED. 

II. 


i 


SIEGFRIED. 


II. 

Siegfried,  leading  the  bear,  soon  reached 
the  cave  of  the  dwarf. 

"Mime,"  he  called,  "Where  are  you? 
Why  do  you  not  come  from  your  hiding 
place?  I  know  you  are  somewhere  in  the 
cave.  Come  and  see  what  a  nice  play- 
fellow I  have  brought  from  the  forest." 

Mime,  who  had  crouched  with  fear  be- 
hind the  forge,  lifted  his  head,  but  at  the 
sight  of  the  bear  standing  with  Siegfried 
at  the  entrance  of  the  cave,  he  again 
shrank  behind  the  forge. 

"Come  out  at  once,  you  sly  little  dwarf. 
I  have  many  questions  I  wish  to  ask  you," 
said  Siegfried. 

"Let  the  bear  go.    Then  I  will  come." 

With  this  the   bear   only   growled  the 


SIEGFRIED. 

louder,  and  that  frig'htened  the  Nibelung" 
even  more. 

"Let  the  bear  g-o,"  he  cried,"  and  I  will 
answer  every  question  you  ask." 

"If  you  were  not  such  a  coward,  the  bear 
would  not  g^rowl  at  you,"  replied  Siegfried. 
"Still,  if  you  will  not  come  until  I  let  him 
g"o,  I  will  send  him  away.  But  before  I  do 
that  you  must  promise  to  answer  every 
question  I  ask. " 

"Yes,  yes,  all  shall  be  answered." 

Siegfried  let  go  the  rope  which  held  the 
bear,  and  the  beast  ran  back  into  the  for- 
est. Mime  then  crept  cautiously  from  be- 
hind the  forg"e,  looking"  in  every  direction 
to  be  sure  the  bear  was  no  longer  near. 

"Come  closer,"  demanded  Siegfried, 
"What  a  coward  you  are!" 

The  dwarf  crept  nearer.  He  seemed 
more  cowardly  than  ever  as  he  approached 
the  youth.     Siegfried  was  brave  and  fear- 

98 


SIEGFRIED. 

less,  and  his  young"  face  shone  with  a  new 
light  as  he  looked  down  upon  the  crouch- 
ing' figure  of  the  Nibelung,  and  this  is  the 
way  the  music  tells  us  of  Siegfried  the 
Fearless: 


-»  r- 


& 


pfi%^P^ 


SIEGFRIED  THE  FEARLESS. 

"Mime,  today  I  have  been  watching  the 
forest  beasts  with  their  little  ones.  The 
baby  birds  are  like  the  mother  and  father 
bird.  The  young  bear  resembles  its  par- 
ents, and  the  wolf  cubs  bear  likeness  to 
the  older  ones.  The  time  has  come  now 
when  you  must  tell  me  who  I  am.  I  know 
you  cannot  be  my  father  for  there  is  no 
resemblance  between  us." 

"What  difference  does  it  make  to  you 
who  your  parents  are  so  long  as  I  love 
you,"  said  Mime. 

99 


SIEGFRIED. 

"You  do  not  truly  love  me.  You  are  sly 
and  cowardly  and  untruthful.  Tell  me 
who  I  am!"  and  with  flashing  eyes  and  his 
powerful  arms  uplifted  he  sprang  toward 
Mime. 

"Stop !  Stop !' '  cried  the  dwarf,  shielding 
his  head  with  his  arm,  "I  will  tell  you 
all. " 

Then  in  low,  sullen  tones  he  told  Sieg- 
fried how  he  had  found  him,  a  tiny  baby, 
in  the  forest,  and  how,  as  he  lifted  him 
from  the  ground  a  voice  had  said,  "Sieg- 
fried is  the  name  of  the  child, "  but  Mime 
was  very  careful  not  to  say  one  word  about 
the  sword. 

"How  do  I  know  you  are  telling  me  the 
truth,"  said  Siegfried  angrily.  "I  must 
have  some  proof.  Show  me  something 
that  will  prove  to  me  what  you  say  is 
true." 

Mime  knew  by  Siegfried's  tone  that  it 

100 


SIEGFRIED. 

would  be  dang"erous  to  refuse,  so  he  crept 
behind  the  forge  and  brought  out  the 
broken  sword,  Nothung. 

"Here  is  the  proof.  This  broken  sword 
lay  by  your  side  when  I  found  you," 

"Broken,"  said  Siegfried,  as  he  exam- 
ined it  closely,  "but  it  is  made  of  the  best 
steel.  How  it  shines!  How  strong  it  will 
be  when  mended!'  Mend  it  for  me.  Mime. 
This  is  what  I  have  waited  and  longed  to 
possess.  As  soon  as  the  sword  is  mended 
I  will  leave  this  hated  cave  forever  and 
go  forth  into  the  world  to  see  what  it  is 
like. " 

Turning  his  face  which  was  now  white 
with  fear,  toward  Siegfried,  Mime  said, 
"Alas,  Alas!     I  cannot  mend  the  sword!" 

"You  have  boasted  long  of  your  cun- 
ning as  a  smith.  Why  can  you  not  do  what 
I  ask?  If  you  are  skillful  enough  with 
your  tools   to    make    a   silver  horn   you 

101 


SIEGFRIED. 

ought  surely  to  be  able  to  mend  a  sword," 
replied  Siegfried  impatiently. 

"Listen  to  me,"  said  the  dwarf,  cower- 
ing and  cringing  from  head  to  foot.  "The 
voice  which  told  me  your  name  in  the  for- 
est so  many  years  ago  also  told  me  this: 
'Nothung  is  the  name  of  the  sword.  It  is 
a  magic  sword  and  only  he  who  knows  no 
fear  can  weld  it  together.'" 

"I  do  not  wonder,  then,"  thundered 
Siegfried,  that  you  could  do  nothing  with 
it.  Give  me  the  sword  and  I  will  weld  it 
together. " 

He  seized  the  broken  sword  and  im- 
patiently strode  toward  a  huge  file  which 
was  fastened  to  the  forge  and  began  to 
file  it  to  dust  which  fell  into  a  small  basin. 

"You  are  spoiling  the  sword!"  screamed 
Mime. 

"On  no,  I  am  not,"  laughed  Siegfried  as 
he  filed  the  faster. 

102 


SIEGFRIED. 

Soon  the  sword,  all  but  the  handle,  was 
changed  into  sparkling"  dust.  He  then 
took  the  basin  which  held  the  powder  and 
placed  it  on  the  forge.  Reaching  up  he 
grasped  the  bellows  and  worked  it  until 
the  fire  had  melted  the  powder  into  a 
glowing  liquid.  Close  at  hand  was  the 
mold,  and  into  it  he  poured  the  glowing 
mass. 

For  one  moment  he  stood  with  beating 
heart,  wondering  if  Nothung  would  be  all 
he  expected  when  he  opened  the  mold. 
Carefully  he  lifted  the  cover,  and  there 
lay  the  perfect  sword.  Quickly  seizing  it 
with  a  huge  pair  of  pinchers,  Siegfried 
hurried  to  the  forge  and  plunged  the 
sword  into  the  fire  which  was  kept  at  a 
white  heat  by  the  bellows.  Allowing  it  to 
remain  for  a  moment  only  in  the  fierce 
fire,  he  grasped  it  again  with  the  pinchers 
and  laid  it,  red  hot,  upon  the  anvil.    Seiz- 

103 


^■1 


SIEGFRIED. 

ing"  his  huge  hammer,  with  heavy  strokes 
he  pounded  it  until  the  edges  were  sharp 
and  thin.  Then,  again  heating  it,  he 
fastened  it  to  the  handle. 

At  last  it  was  finished,  and  Siegfried 
held  it  up  and  felt  the  edg-es.  They  must 
be  even  sharper  for  so  trusty  a  sword.  For 
the  last  time  he  placed  it  in  the  fire,  and 
blew  the  bellows  even  faster  than  before. 
Once  more  it  was  red  hot.  As  he  laid  it 
on  the  anvil  and  pounded  it,  the  sparks 
flew  in  very  direction,  and  Siegfried,  filled 
with  joy,  sang"  of  the  sword  and  the  work 
it  would  one  day  do.  Faster  and  faster 
fell  the  mighty  hammer.  Thinner  and 
sharper  grew  the  keen  edges  until  the 
young"  hero  threw  aside  the  hammer,  and 
flourishing  the  sword  in  all  its  new  glory 
above  his  head,  burst  into  a  new,  glad, 
triumphant  sword  song: 


104 


5- 


E 


F      R 


D 


'Nothung^,  Nothung-!    Wonderful  sword! 
Thy  life  again  have  I  given!" 


1^  .Mf   1  ,1  |.i.  ^M' 


SWORD  MOTIVE. 

With  one  powerful  blow  of  the  sword, 
the  anvil  fell  in  pieces.  How  the  cave 
rang"  with  the  sword  of  Nothung-,  and  rig-ht 
with  it  came  the  music  of  Sieg-fried  the 
Fearless. 


SIEGFRIED  THE  FEARLESS. 

Mime,  terrified  at  the  light  which  shone 
from  the  sparks  as  they  flew  about,  and 
also  at  Sieg-fried's  streng-th,  had  fallen 
upon  the  ground  in  another  part  of  the 
cave.  There  he  lay  on  his  face  until  Sieg- 
fried called  to  him. 

"Now  that  I  have  such  a  trusty  sword, 
I  will  leave  the  cave  forever.     All  over 

105 


IM 


SIEGFRIED. 

the  world  will  I  seek  for  new  tests  of  my 
strength,  and  never  again  will  I  come 
back  to  you,  Mime.  Is  there  anything  you 
wish  to  say  to  me  before  I  start?" 

"Yes,  I  have  much  to  say,"  answered 
the  dwarf  as  he  slowly  raised  his  body. 
"Sit  down  and  I  will  tell  you. 

"You  are  a  strong  youth,  and  brave  as 
well,  but  one  thing  you  do  not  know." 

"Tell  me  what  that  one  thing  is,"  said 
the  impatient  youth, 

"It  is  fear,  "  said  Mime. 

"Fear,"  said  Siegfried.  "What  is 
fear?" 

'  'Have  you  never  felt  your  whole  body 
tremble  and  your  heart  beat  fast  and  loud 
when  the  wild  beasts  were  growling  near 
you?  Have  you  never  run  to  escape 
them?" 

"No,  never,  Mime.  You  have  taught 
me   many   things.     Now   teach   me   fear. 

106 


SIEGFRIED, 

Take  me  to  the  place  where  I  shall  know 
what  you  mean  by  fear.  " 

"Very  well,"  said  the  sly  Mime.  "Far 
distant  in  the  forest  is  Hate  Cavern,  the 
home  of  the  terrible  drag'on,  Fafner.  I 
will  take  you  there,  and  you  will  learn 
fear  at  once. ' ' 

"A  dragon, — what  is  a  dragon?"  asked 
Sieg-fried. 

"A  dragon  is  the  animal  of  all  animals 
which  most  terrifies  man,  and  this  one  is 
the  most  dangerous  of  them  all.  The  cav- 
ern where  he  dwells  has  never  been  ap- 
proached by  mortal  since  he  took  up  his 
abode  there. 

"He  is  like  a  huge,  awful  worm.  He 
does  not  walk,  but  twists  and  turns  his 
slimy  body  as  he  crawls  in  the  dust:  His 
tail  has  a  fatal  sting  and  is  long  and 
pointed.  No  one  dares  approach  him,  for 
if  he  tries  to  come  from  the  back,  the  dra- 

107 


SIEGFRIED. 

g-on  will  be  sure  to  sting:  'h.xm,  and  if  he 
comes  near  his  head  or  sides,  the  poison- 
ous breath  will  bring-  instant  death." 

"Oh,  that  is  nothing  of  which  to  be 
afraid, "  laughed  Siegfried.  '  'He  will  make 
me  a  nice  playfellow.  But  come,  let  us 
be  off.  I  am  anxious  to  see  this  dragon 
and  know  if  he  can  teach  me  fear." 

Mime  strapped  his  drinking-  horn  to  his 
belt,  and  going  to  an  inner  part  of  the 
cave,  filled  it  with  some  mysterious  liquid. 
Then  turning  to  Siegfried  he  said,  "I  am 
ready." 

All  that  night  they  traveled  silently 
through  the  forest.  Each  was  busy  with 
his  own  thoughts,  so  neither  spoke.  As  the 
sun  was  rising  Mime  said  "Let  us  stop 
here.  Straight  ahead,  at  some  distance, 
is  the  cavern  where  Fafner  dwells.  I  will 
wait  for  you  here.  Now  go,  and  learn 
well  your  lesson." 

108 


F      R 


D     . 


Siegfried  was  only  too  glad  to  get  away 
from  the  cowardly  dwarf.  How  free  and 
happy  he  felt  as  he  walked  on  with  No- 
thung  in  his  hand. 

"There  is  the  cave.  I  will  lie  down  here 
in  the  sunshine  and  wait  for  the  dragon," 
said  he,  half  aloud,  as  he  threw  himself 
upon  a  huge  log. 


'/   fi'fn"-     -    .    .    -'llTTlMXLiLL 


FOREST  LIFE. 
109 


SIEGFRIED. 

The  bright  morning-  sun  shone  on  his 
golden  hair,  and  there  was  a  new  light  in 
his  eyes  as  he  looked  up  at  the  trees. 
Soon  he  heard  the  beautiful  song  of  a  for- 
est bird.     It  was  like  the  music  above. 

So  sweet  was  the  song  that  he  scarcely- 
moved. 

"The  bird  is  certainly  singing  to  me. 
Why  can  I  not  understand  her?"  thought 
he.  "I  will  make  a  whistle  from  a  reed 
and  see  if  I  can  answer  her. " 

Springing  up,  he  seized  a  reed.  The 
whistle  was  soon  made  and  he  tried  to 
answer  the  bird.  But  he  did  not  succeed 
for  the  bird  would  not  listen. 

"I  will  try  my  horn,"  thought  he,  and 
putting  the  horn  to  his  lips  he  blew  it  loud 
and  clear.  But  instead  of  the  bird  song, 
this  is  what  he  heard: 


.jpD:  ^njf^nj  si^^un^ 


! 


^ 


"rjt^"^^l"utf&^^nwj?- 


GIANT  MOTIVE. 

no 


SIEGFRIED. 

"Oh  ho!     That  must  be  the  drag-on!" 
Again   he  heard  the   noise,   and,   sure 
enoug-h,  the  squirming-,  crawling  body  of 
the  awful  monster  appeared,  coming  nearer 
and  nearer  to  him. 

"Who  are  you?"  growled  the  dragon. 

"I  am  Siegfried,  and  Mime  said  you 
would  teach  me  what  fear  is." 

"I  will  eat  you!" 

The  dragon  ground  his  teeth  together 
and  thrust  out  his  long,  red  tongue.  His 
ugly  face  grew  darker  and  darker. 

"Oh,  but  you  are  much  mistaken," 
laughed  the  youth. 

This  infuriated  the  dragon,  and  as  he 
snorted  there  poured  forth  fiery  smoke 
that  was  deadly  poison.  Siegfried,  how- 
ever, was  wise  enough  to  keep  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  poisonous  smoke,  and  it  did 
not  harm  him. 

Ill 


SIEGFRIED. 

"Come  nearer  to  me  if  you  know  no 
.fear,"  sneered  the  dragon. 

"Yes,  that  I  will,"  said  Siegfried. 

With  these  words  he  sprang  forward  and 
plunged  into  the  heart  of  the  dragon  No- 
thung,  the  mighty  sword. 

"Cursed  is  the  Ring  and  only  sorrow  and 
unhappiness  will  follow  him  who  possesses 
it, "  gasped  the  dragon  as  he  fell  over  dead. 

Siegfried  drew  his  dripping  sword  from 
the  body  of  the  monster.  As  he  did  so 
one  drop  of  the  dragon's  blood  fell  upon 
his  hand.  It  burned  as  if  a  coal  of  fire  had 
touched  his  hand  and  instinctively  he 
thrust  it  into  his  mouth  to  stop  the  pain.  A 
sudden  change  came  over  him.  He  stood 
spell-bound,  and  listened  amazed,  for  he 
heard  the  bird  notes  as  words:" 

"Mime  is  wicked  and  cowardly.  He 
loves  no  one.  Everyone  v/ho  comes  near 
him  he  harms.     He  is  at  this  moment  mak- 

112 


SIEGFRIED. 

ing  poison  with  which  to  kill  you.  So, 
brave  youth,  you  must  kill  him  before  he 
does  anyone  else  harm,"  sang  the  bird. 

Siegfried  entered  the  cave  where  the 
dragon  for  so  many  years  had  lived  with 
the  gold.  He  took  the  Ring  and  the  magic 
Helmet,  but  left  the  bags  of  gold.  He  put 
the  Ring  on  his  finger  and  carried  the  Hel- 
met in  his  hand.  In  this  way  he  left  the 
cave  and  met  Mime  approaching,  carrying 
very  carefully  the  drinking  horn. 

"Here  is  a  nice  cool  drink  for  you,  my 
boy,  after  your  hard  work." 

Eyeing  him  sternly,  Siegfried  said,  "That 
is  poison.  I  will  not  touch  it."  With  that 
he  hurled  the  horn  from  Mime's  trembling 
hand,  and  with  Nothung,  killed  the  cow- 
ardly, wicked  Nibelung. 

Once  more  Seigfried  threw  himself  on 
the  log,  but  this  time  his  thoughts  were 
different. 

115 


SIEGFRIED. 

"I  am  lonely.     Would  that  my  mother 
were  here. " 


FTV^  'J    Jl  J  U-    |:g^ 


£:;r 


-i*^ 


^^m 


S 


LOVE  MOTIVE  (  LOVE  LIFE.) 

Again  the  birds  sang: 

"I  will  tell  you  of  someone  who  will 
love  you — love  you  better  than  all  the 
world.  High  on  yonder  mountain,  sur- 
rounded by  fire,  sleeps  a  beautiful  maiden, 
awaiting  the  hero  who  knows  no  fear  to 
awaken  her.  Follow  me  and  I  will  show 
you  the  way." 

Filled  with  joy,  Siegfried  sprang  to  his 
feet  and  followed  the  little  singer.  It  was 
a  weary  way,  but  the  longing  for  love 
made  it  seem  short.     Suddenly  the  bird 

116 


SIEGFRIED. 

disappeared,  and  Siegfried  came  face  to 
face  with  the  mighty  Wotan. 

Wotan,  king"  of  all  the  giants,  was  much 
larger  than  Siegfried,  and  in  his  hand  he 
carried  the  mighty  spear  with  which  he 
ruled  the  world. 

"Where  are  you  going,  young  man?" 
asked  Wotan. 

"Yonder  on  the  mountain,  upon  a  rock 
surrounded  by  fire,  sleeps  a  beautiful 
maiden,  who,  when  I  shall  awaken  her, 
will  always  love  me." 

"Dare  you  face  the  fire?"  Wotan  spoke 
slowly. 

"I  am  not  afraid!  Do  not  delay  me!" 
and  Siegfried  attempted  to  pass. 

"Stop!"  commanded  the  giant  king. 

"I  will  not!"  replied  the  fearless  hero. 

"Stand  back,  you  shall  not  go,"  thun- 
dered the  giant.  "My  all-powerful, 
mighty  spear  shall  prevent  you.     Do  you 

117 


SIEGFRIED, 

think,  brave  as  you  are,  that  you  can  shat- 
ter the  spear  which  for  hundreds  of  years 
has  ruled  the  world?" 

Siegfried  answered  not  a  word,  but  rais- 
ing" Nothung  high  in  the  air,  and  with 
more  than  giant  strength  brought  it  down 
upon  the  mighty  spear.  A  great  crash 
was  heard  as  the  spear  fell  in  two  pieces 
at  the  feet  of  the  king. 

"Go  forward,"  said  Wotan,  slowly  bow- 
ing his  head,  "I  can  no  longer  prevent 
you.  Some  power  stronger  than  giant 
power  must  rule  the  world,"  and  turning 
he  went  silently  to  Walhalla. 

Siegfried,  filled  with  hope,  began  to  as- 
cend the  mountain.  He  had  not  climbed 
far  when  he  noticed  the  increased  heat  in 
the  air. 

"I  must  be  near  the  circle  of  fire," 
thought  he,  and  sure  enough,  as  he 
looked  he  saw  the  bright  red  flames  shoot- 

118 


SIEGFRIED. 

ing-  almost  up  to  the  sky.  Nearer  and 
nearer  he  came,  and  hotter  and  hotter 
grew  the  flames.  Soon  he  stood  before 
the  fire. 

"Only  the  fire  between  me  and  the  one 
I  am  to  love, — the  one  who  is  to  love  me," 
cried  he,  and  with  a  leap  he  sprang-  into 
the  fire.^;  And  this  is  the  wonderful  music 
which  tells  us  of  Siegfried  as  he  went 
through  the  fire. 


K''   fftfiF  ff^^^ 


SIEGFRIED  THE  HERO. 

Unharmed,  and  without  one  touch  of  the 
fire  Siegfried  stood  before  the  sleeping 
one.  Somewhat  confused,  he  looked  about 
him. 

"All  the  trees  are  sleeping;  so  are  the 
flowers,  and  a  horse  lies  asleep  under  the 
tree,   and  there  rests  a  beautiful  young 

119 


SIEGFRIED, 


knight.     I  will  go  nearer  and  remove  the 


shield. 


ir  1 1  I  '  'ii 


SLUMBER  MOTIVE. 

Slowly  he  crept  nearer  the  sleeping  fig- 
ure and  took  away  the  shield,  but  under 
that  was  a  coat  of  mail. 

"This  coat  I  must  also  remove,  but  it  is 
fastened  with  steel  rings.  Come,  Nothung, 
and  cut  them." 

Very  carefully  he  cut  the  rings,  and  the 
coat  of  mail  fell  jingling  to  the  ground. 

"Now  I  will  lift  the  helmet,"  said  he. 

Tenderly  Siegfried  lifted  the  helmet,  and 
Brunhilde's  golden  hair  fell  in  long  curls 
over  her. 

"Oh!  It  is  not  a  man!"  cried  Siegfried 
as  he  sprang  back. 

120 


SIEGFRIED, 

His  whole  body  was  trembling"  and  his 
heart  beat  fast  and  loud. 

"Now  I  know  what  fear  is,"  said  he, 
"A  beautiful  maiden!  Can  she  love  me? 
Why  does  she  not  waken?" 

Several  times  he  called,  but  she  still 
slept  on. 

Trembling-ly  he  approached,  and  stood 
long,  gazing-  thoughtfully  upon  her.  Then 
he  bent  and  tenderly  kissed  her,  and  in- 
stantly she  awoke,  as  did  all  about  her. 

Slowly  she  raised  herself  and  looked  all 
around  her.  Long  she  gazed  at  her  horse; 
then,  lifting  her  eyes,  she  beheld  the  sun- 
shine, and  all  the  sunshine  in  her  re- 
sponded in  a  song. 

"Hail,  Thou  Sunshine!" 

These  were  her  first  words  on  awaken- 
ing from  her  long,  long  slumber.  Then 
she  noticed  Siegfried. 

"You  are  Siegfried  the  Fearless.     You 

121 


SIEGFRIED. 

are  the  hero  who  dared  come  throug-h  the 
fire  to  rescue  me!" 

"Yes,  the  bird  sang  to  me  of  you  and  of 
the  love  which  would  be  mine,  could  I  but 
waken  you. " 

"You  are  my  brave  hero,  and  I  will  love 
you  always,  yes,  love  you  more  than  the 
whole  world.  And  as  a  pledge  of  my  love 
I  will  give  you  my  brave  winged  horse. 
He  it  was  who  carried  the  brave  heroes  to 
Walhalla.  Although  the  power  of  bis 
wings  is  gone,  he  is  still  the  swiftest  horse 
on  all  the  earth.  He  shall  be  no  more 
Brunhilde's,  but  Siegfried's  horse. 

"Brunhilde,  my  pledge   of  love  to  you 

shall  be  this  ring.     What  joy  it  is  to  have 

»*3  someone  to   love!"   and  not  heeding  the 

warning  of  the  dragon,  Siegfried  placed 

the  ring  on  Brunhilde's  finger. 

Long  they  sat  talking  together.  Some- 
times their  joy  would  burst  forth  into  song. 

122 


SIEGFRIED. 

Brunhilde  sang  of  her  life  in  the  beautiful 
Palace  of  Walhalla 


ij.^-/>  ii^-i\p^^ 


and  Siesffried  of  his  free  forest  life. 


FOREST  LIFE. 
123 


SIEGFRIED. 


Brunhilde   sang-   of  the   War   Maidens, 


RIDE  OF  THE  WALKYR. 

Siegfried  of  his  sword,  Nothung, 


nr  J,  iM-  n'^ 


and  of  the  dragon  he  had  slain, 


GIANT  MOTIVE. 


SIEGFRIED  THE  FEARLESS. 

also  of  the  magic  fire  and  the  slumbering- 
maiden, 

124 


s 


R 


D    . 


I    f^t\\'  rfiTfr  I 


SIEGFRIED  THE  HERO. 


1^'    '  r  I    'gii 


£?fe: 


SLUMBER  MOTIVE. 


but  the  music  which  told  of  their  love  was 
sweeter  than  all  the  rest. 


-*« 


3Eg 


LOVE  MOTIVE  (  LOVE  LIFE.) 

Brunhilde  thou^dit  no  more  of  Walhalla. 
Siegfried  no  more  of  Mime.  So  filled  with 
love  were  they  that  the  whole  world 
seemed  to  have  gained  new  glory  for  them. 

125 


DIE 
GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 


If 

DIE  GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 


After  Siegfried  had  cut  the  spear  in 
pieces  with  Nothung-,  Wotan  returned 
sadly  to  Walhalla.  Eager  for  news  all 
the  g-iaats  gathered  around  him,  but  they 
were  slow  to  speak  when  they  noticed  the 
broken  spear.  At  last  one  of  them 
said: 

"Wotan,  what  is  troubling  you?  You 
do  not  look  as  happy  as  you  did  when  you 
went  away." 

"No!  No!  No!  I  am  not  happy!  Happi- 
ness will  never  again  be  ours.  While 
walking  upon  the  earth  I  met  Siegfried, 
the  fearless  hero.  He  was  then  on  his 
way  up  the  mountain  to  awaken  the  sleep- 
ing Brunhilde.  I  tried  to  detain  him  with 
my  spear  which  hitherto  has  conquered  all 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

things,  but  love  was  in  his  heart,  and  with 
one  blow  of  his  trusty  sword  he  cut  the 
spear  in  two  pieces.  Now  I  know  that  our 
giant  power  will  no  longer  rule  the  world, 
but  something  stronger  will  soon  reign  in 
its  place.  Alas!  Alas!  Alberich's  curse 
is  coming  true." 

As  Wotan  was  speaking,  a  cloud  crept 
slowly  over  the  sky. 

Siegfried  and  Brunhilde,  meantime,  were 
spending  the  hours  happily  together.  One 
day  Brunhilde  called  Siegfried  to  her. 

"Siegfried,  you  were  indeed  brave  to  kill 
the  dragon.  Braver  still  were  you  to  come 
through  the  fire.  Are  you  brave  enough 
now  to  leave  me  for  a  time? 

"If  you  are  a  true  hero  you  must  go  and 
do  more  brave  deeds.  To  remain  always 
by  my  side  would  be  to  forget  all  else. 
Your  trusty  sword  would  rust  in  its  sheath 
were  it  never  used.    And  I,  too,  must  learn 

130 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 


new  courage,  for  if  I  truly  love  you,  as  I 
do,  I  must  send  you  away  from  me  that 
you  may  gain  new  strength." 

Siegfried  listened  intently  while  Brun- 
hilde  was  speaking. 

"You  are  right,  Brunhilde.  I  will  go, 
but  you  will  always  be  in  my  thoughts.  I 
shall  not  stay  away  long,  but  1  shall  not 
return  until  I  have  done  some  brave  deed 
worthy  of  your  praise." 

So  Siegfried,  the  Hero,  dressed  in  full 
armor,  and  riding  Brunhilde's  war  horse, 
left  the  mountain  and  rode  through  the  fire 
into  what  was  to  him  a  new  world.  His 
journey  was  long,  but  the  war  horse  trav- 
eled so  swiftly  that  they  passed  over  hun- 
dreds of  miles  in  the  time  it  would  take  us 
to  travel  one. 

Finally  he  neared  the  Rhine,  and  seeing 
a  boat,  he  sprang  in,  and  called  to  his 
horse  to  follow.     He  pushed  the  boat  far 

131 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

into  the  river  and  sped  on.  At  last  lie 
neared  a  large  palace. 

In  this  palace  there  lived  a  very  wicked 
man  who  was  a  friend  of  Alberich's,  and 
his  name  was  Hag^en.  Alberich  had  talked 
much  of  the  gold,  and  they  had  many  times 
discussed  the  power  of  the  magic  helmet 
and  the  ring. 

Hagen  was  also  anxious  to  gain  the  ring 
and  the  gold.  He,  like  Alberich,  cared 
nothing  for  love.  All  his  time  was  spent 
in  thinking  how  he  could  get  possession  of 
the  ring,  yet  he  knew  that  Brunhilde  had 
it,  and  that  Siegfried  had  given  it  to  her. 
He  knew  also  that  she  lived  on  the  moun- 
tain top,  and  was  surrounded  by  fire. 
Again  and  again  did  Hagen  say  "No  one 
but  Siegfried  the  hero  can  go  through  the 
fire.  If  I  could  only  lay  a  plan  to  capture 
this  youth,  and  make  him  forget  Brunhilde, 
I  could  then  force  him  to  get  the  ring  for 
me.  132 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

One  day  he  sat  in  the  palace  door  think- 
ing- the  same  wicked  thoug-hts  when  the 
sound  of  a  horn  reach  his  ears. 

"It  is  someone  coming"  up  the  river," 
cried  he,  springing  to  his  feet,  "Come, 
let  us  g-o  and  see  who  it  is!"  he  called  to 
his  friends. 

All  hurried  down  to  the  river  bank  and 
there  they  saw  a  wonderful  sight.  Sieg"- 
fried  in  full  armor  stood  in  the  bow  of  the 
boat.  One  hand  rested  on  his  war  horse, 
while  with  the  other  he  paddled  the  boat 
ag-ainst  the  swift  current. 

Hagen  and  all  his  friends  stood,  spell- 
bound, hardly  daring-  to  move,  for  such 
streng-th  as  Siegfried  possessed  had  never 
been  seen  by  them. 

"It  can  be  no  other  than  Siegfried,  the 
hero,"  Hagen  said  at  last.  "Such  streng-th 
belongs  to  no  one  else.  See,  he  paddles 
with  one  hand  ag-ainst  the  current.  Surely 
that  is  Siegfried."    133 


DIE    GOTTERDAM  MERUN  G. 

Swiftly  the  boat  glided  to  the  shore,  and 
Siegfried  sprang  out. 

"Are  you  not  Siegfried?"  asked  Hagen. 

"Yes,  and  I  have  come  from  a  beautiful 
mountain  to  seek  new  adventures." 

"Stay  with  us  for  a  time,"  said  Hagen. 
"There  are  many  wild  animals  here  which 
ought  to  be  slain,  but  no  one  is  strong 
enough  to  do  it.  You  may  hunt  all  day 
and  then  when  night  falls  amuse  yourself 
by  listening  to  fine  music  and  interesting 
stories." 

"You  are  most  kind  to  me,"  replied 
Siegfried,  not  dreaming  Hagen  was  such 
a  wicked  man.  "I  will  accept  your  gener- 
ous hospitality." 

So  the  boat  was  drawn  up  on  the  shore, 
and  the  war  horse  stepped  proudly  out, 
pawing  the  ground  impatiently. 

"What  a  superb  horse!"  exclaimed 
Hagen,  "and  it  has  wings." 

134 


•J 

■X, 


u 
a, 

■■A 


< 


il 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

"Yes, "  said  Siegfried,  and  his  eyes  shone 
with  a  glad  light.  "He  is  the  swiftest 
horse  in  the  world,  and  is  very  dear  to  me. ' ' 

"Can  he  fly?" 

"Not  now.  Long,  long  years  ago  he  had 
power  in  his  wings,  but  that  was  taken 
away  by  Wotan  before  he  was  given  to 
me." 

"But  come,"  said  Hagen,  "let  us  go  in 
and  refresh  ourselves  with  cooling  drinks 
and  some  food." 

He  led  the  way  and  they  entered  a 
bright,  sunny  room  in  the  palace.  There 
they  ate  and  drank  and  talked  of  the 
country  round  about  and  the  wild  animals 
that  Siegfried  would  slay. 

"I  am  eager  to  be  off  to  the  hunt, "  said 
Siegfried  as  they  finished  their  repast. 

"I  will  have  some  of  my  servants  show 
you  the  way  at  once,"  replied  Hagen,  "if 
you  are  anxious  to  go." 

137 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

Hagen  then  called  his  servants  and  told 
them  to  show  Siegfried  the  path  to  the 
forest  where  the  ferocious  animals  lived. 
Joyfully  the  brave  Siegfried  mounted  his 
horse  and  rode  away.  Hagen  watched 
him  until  he  had  ridden  far  out  of  sight. 
Then,  with  a  scornful  leer  he  went  into  a 
dark  room  and  seated  himself  in  a  corner. 

"Now  I  can  think  better,  here  in  the 
dark,"  muttered  he  to  himself. 

It  is  no  wonder  he  chose  a  dark  room, 
for  his  thoughts  were  darker  than  the 
blackest  night. 

"This  youth  is  certainly  the  bravest 
hero  in  the  world.  How  can  I  surely  make 
him  get  the  ring  for  me?" 

Just  then  he  heard^  something  like  this 


NIBELUNG   MOTIVE. 

and  right  before  him  stood  Alberich. 

138 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

"Ah,  Alberich,  you  here!  Hateful  crea- 
ture! How  I  loathe  you!  Why  do  you  not 
stay  where  you  belong",  down  in  your  foul 
and  miserable  king-dom?" 

"Bah!  Have  I  not  a  right  to  come  into 
the  upper  air?"  and  a  look  of  hateful  cun- 
ning came  into  his  eyes.  "I  am  here  be- 
cause of  the  ring.  Why  do  you  not  get  this 
Siegfried  to  get  it  from  Brunhilde?" 

"How  can  I  do  that  when  Siegfried  all 
the  time  thinks  of  no  one  but  her?" 

"Listen, — I  am  afraid  to  say  it  very 
loud — the  only  way  to  do  is  to  give  him  a 
magic  drink  which  will  make  him  forget 
her." 

"How  can  I  do  that?" 

"I  will  mix  such  a  liquid,  and  when  he 
comes  in  tired  and  warm  from  the  hunt 
you  can  say  to  him,  'Here,  brave  Sieg- 
fried, is  a  cooling  drink  which  will  refresh 
you.'     Do  you  understand?" 

139 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

"Yes,  but  how  will  I  get  the  ring-  from 
Brunhilde?" 

"Leave  that  to  me  and  all  will  be  well. 
After  he  has  swallowed  the  magic  potion 
we  will  make  him  take  the  ring  from  Brun- 
hilde," and  with  these  w^ords  Alberich 
vanished.  But  on  the  table  near  where  he 
had  been  standing  was  a  drinking  horn  in 
which  was  the  magic  liquid. 

"Aha!"  exclaimed  the  wicked  Hagen, 
"the  ring  will  soon  be  mine,  mine,  mine! 
Alberich  thinks  I  will  give  it  to  him,  but 
he  is  greatly  mistaken,"  and  he  laughed 
loudly. 

Just  then  Siegfried's  silver  horn  could 
be  heard  clear  and  sweet  in  the  distance. 
Nearer  and  nearer  it  came,  and  Hagan 
seizing  the  drinking  horn,  went  out  to 
meet  him. 

"I  have  slain  one  of  the  wild  animals, " 
said  Siegfried  as  Hagen  approached  him. 

140 


DIE    GOTTERDAMM  ERU  NG. 

"Then  we  have  much  for  which  to  thank 
you,"  said  Hagan,  smiling-  and  bowing  in 
seeming-  politeness,  "but  before  you  do 
anything  else  refresh  yourself  with  this 
cool  drink." 

"Thank  you, "  returned  Siegfried.  "This 
is  very  pleasant  country  about  here.  I 
think  I  will  remain  for  a  while." 

His  thoughts  then  for  the  first  time  were 
more  of  his  own  pleasure  than  of  his  be 
loved  Brunhilde,  so,  carelessly,  he  put  the 
horn  to  his  lips  and  drank  the  magic  po- 
tion.    Instantly  Brunhilde  was  forgotten. 

After  this  a  change  came  over  Siegfried. 
He  went  no  more  to  the  hunt,  but  staid  in 
the  palace  and  did  nothing  but  feast  and 
have  a  good  time.  As  the  days  went  by 
he  seemed  more  and  more  intent  upon  en- 
joying himself.  So  eager  was  he  for  his 
own  pleasure  that  he  forgot  even  his  trusty 
Nothung,  and  the  sword  which  could  do  so 

141 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 


much  hung-  unused  upon  the  wall  of  the 
palace.  Strange  that  he  could  have  for- 
gotten that  day  in  the  forest  when  he 
forged  Nothung  anew.  But  everything- 
was  forgotten  save  his  own  pleasure. 

High  up  on  the  mountain,  surrounded  by 
the  magic  fire,  waited  Brunhilde. 

"Why  does  not  my  Sieg-fried  come  back 
to  me.  The  days  are  long  and  dreary. 
The  air  is  close  and  heavy.  Darkness  is 
spreading  over  the  earth .  Some  evil  must 
have  befallen  my  hero,  for  he  said  he 
would  return  to  me  soon,  and  it  has  been 
many  long  weeks  since  he  went  away.  I 
feel  that  he  needs  me.  I  will  go  to  him. 
Yes,  I  will  go  at  once,"  and  Brunhilde 
sprang  up.  "I  will  start  this  very  mo- 
ment. "  And  as  the  night  was  falling  over 
the  earth,  guided  by  love,  Brunhilde 
walked  through  the  fire  to  find  her  Sieg- 
fried. 

142 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

Long"  was  her  journey.  Day  and  night 
she  traveled,  but  she  never  grew  weary 
for  always  she  heard  the  voice  telling  her 
that  Siegfried  was  in  need  of  her. 

Early  one  morning  she  heard  singing  and 
stopped  for  a  moment  to  listen. 


^^^^^^^^m 


RHINE  DAUGHTERS  MOTIVE. 

Before  her  was  the  River  Rhine,  and 
there  were  the  Rhine  Daughters  singing 
of  their  lost  gold  and  the  ring  and  the 
curse  upon  it. 

"Why  does  not  some  one  give  the  ring 
back  and  break  the  curse,"  thought  Brun- 
hilde  as  she  stood  gazing  at  the  scene  be- 
fore her. 

Hagen,  in  the  meantime,  began  to  think 
it  was  about  time  for  Siegfried  to  get  the 
ring  for  him. 

143 


DIE    GOTTERDAM  MERUNG, 


"I  will  insist  upon  having-  it  today!  It 
is  early  morning-  now.  Before  nig-ht  the 
ring  shall  be  mine." 

So  he  blew  his  horn,  called  his  men  to 
him  and  sent  them  in  search  of  Siegfried. 

In  the  meantime,  however,  Sieg-fried  had 
risen  early  and  wandered  about  the  palace, 
seeking-  for  some  new  pleasure.  Suddenly 
his  eye  caug-ht  sight  of  the  forgotten 
Nothung  hang-ing-  on  the  wall. 

"A  hunt  will  be  the  best  enjoyment  for 
me  this  morning-,"  said  he,  as  he  buckled 
on  the  sword. 

With  these  thoughts  he  mounted  his 
horse  and  rode  away,  but  the  horse  seemed 
not  to  travel  so  swiftly  as  it  once  did. 
Many  times  he  stopped  and  dismounted 
when  he  heard  the  noise  of  an  animal, 
but  could  get  none  of  them.  Finally  he 
stopped  the  horse  and  threw  himself  down 
on  the  g-rass.  All  at  once  he  heard  a  bird 
singingf.     , ',    -'   -  ^  14I 


DIE    GOTTERDAM  M  ERU  NG. 


f*  m^  i^  ^  1  [7^  I  mn 


FOREST  LIFE. 


I  was  in  a  forest,  too.  That  was  a  long" 
time  ago.  Yes,  and  it  was  at  that  time  I 
forged  my  Nothung"  anew  and  g'ave  it  new 


+ir  1  I  I'l-  rr^ 


SWORD  MOTIVE. 
145 


■JU 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG, 


life,"  and  Siegfried's  face  became  lighter 
as  memory  became  clearer.  "Yes,  and  I 
killed  the-  dragon. 


SIEGFRIED  THE  FEARLESS. 

Mime's  heart  also  was  pierced  with  No- 
thung.  I  also  tasted  the  dragon's  blood, 
and  Oh,  yes,  yes,  it  was  then  I  understood 
the  bird,  and  she  sang  of  a  magic  fire, — of 
a  sleeping  maiden 


^ 


^ 


SLUMBER  MOTIVE. 

Yes,  and  I  went  through  the  fire 


SIEGFRIED  THE  HERO. 


and 


Suddenly  he  stopped  and  sprang  up,  for 

146 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 


he  heard  something- sweeter  and  dearer  to 
him  than  all  else  in  the  world. 


Y-==^t  r  i"'r^T<^ 


^^m 


^i^i^j^  iijj^ 


BRUNHILDE. — LOVE   MOTIVE. 

His  memory  had  returned  to  him  and  he 
^•ave  a  g^lad  cry. 

Brunhilde  stood  before  him! 

"I  knew  you  needed  me  so  I  came  to  you, 
my  Sieg-fried,"  said  she. 

Ag-ain  he  was  the  brave  hero  of  the  other 
days,  even  braver  than  before,  for  had  he 
not  overcome  the  power  of  the  magic 
drink? 

Hagen  came  suddenly  upon  them! 
"The  ring,  the  ring,"  he  shouted.   "Give 

147 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

me  the  magic  ring  or  you  shall  both  die! 
Come  men,  and  take  the  ring!" 

Noble  indeed  then  was  Brunhilde,  as, 
drawing  her  majestic  body  to  its  queenly 
height,  with  one  sweep  of  her  arm  she 
commanded  the  army  of  men  to  stand 
back. 

Slowly  she  drew  the  ring  from  her  finger 
and  clasped  it  in  her  hand.  Raising  it 
high  above  her  head,  she  told  all  to  listen 
to  what  she  was  about  to  say.  Clear  and 
ringing  was  her  voice  as  she  spoke. 

She  told  them  the  sad  history  of  the 
ring.  How  Alberich  had  stolen  the  gold 
from  the  Rhine  Daughters, — its  rightful 
owners,  and  by  giving  up  love  had  been 
able  to  make  a  magic  ring  of  it.  This  ring 
had  cursed  all  who  possessed  it. 

Fafner,  the  mighty  frost  giant,  and  even 
Wotan,  king  of  all  giants  and  ruler  of  the 
world,  had  felt  its  curse.     She  told  them 

148 


SIKGFRIED  UNDKRSTANDSTHK  SONG  OFTHK  RHINE  DAUGHTERS. 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 

that  giant  power  was  about  to  vanish  for- 
ever from  the  earth  that  it  might  give 
place  to  love.  That  in  their  thirst  for  gold 
they  had  given  up  all  that  made  the  world 
beautiful,  for  all  was  useless  without  love. 

No  one  moved  while  she  was  speaking. 

"The  transformation  is  coming!"'  she 
cried. 

A  new  light  shone  in  her  eyes,  and  with 
a  glad  triumphant  shout  she  flung  the  ring 
back  to  the  Rhine  Daughters. 

Instantly  darkness  settled  over  the 
earth.  All  was  hushed  and  silent,  for 
everything  was  changing.  For  days  and 
days  the  sun  did  not  shine. 

At  last  the  morning  broke!  The  sun 
shone  brighter  than  ever  before,  and  told 
his  message  of  love  so  plainly  that  no  one 
misunderstood. 

The  birds  awoke  and  caroled  glad  songs 
of  love,  and  every  mother  gathered  her 

151 


DIE    GOTTERDAMMERUNG. 


little  children  around  her  and  told  them 
that  Walhalla  and  the  giants  were  no 
more;  that  within  each  heart  was  a 
power  stronger  and  purer  in  its  strength 
than  all  the  giants  of  Walhalla,  and  that 
was  the  power  which  would  rule  forever 
and  ever. 

And  that  power,  strong  and  mighty,  was 
love! 


152 


PARSIFAL. 
I. 


PARSIFAL. 


I. 

-  How  everything-  changed  after  love  had 
again  come  into  the  world!  Again  and 
again  did  the  children  ask  to  be  told  of 
Walhalla  and  Siegfried  and  about  the 
heroic  Brunhilde  who  had  been  brave 
enough  to  give  the  ring  back  to  the  Rhine 
Daughters  that  love  might  again  come  to 
rule. 

It  seemed  as  if  everyone  felt  the  change 
for  they  were  kinder  and  nobler  than  they 
had  ever  been.  Each  person  tried  to  do 
what  he  thought  would  make  some  one 
else  happy;  and  if  they  loved  each  other 
so  dearly,  how  much  more  did  they  love 
the  kind  Heavenly  Father  who  sent  the 
birds  to  sing  and  the  sun  to  tell  the  story 
of  His  love. 


PARSIFAL. 

So  great  was  their  love  for  Him  that 
they  built  beautiful  churches  in  which  to 
worship  Him  and  talk  to  each  other  about 
how  they  would  make  the  world  more  beau- 
tiful and  men's  hearts  happier. 

The  g'reat  musician  who  told  the  story 
of  the  Rhine-Gold,  told  another  story, 
though  it  was  much  shorter.  Indeed,  it 
was  the  last  story  he  told  before  the  Father 
called  him  home  that  his  g'reat  soul  mig'ht 
respond  in  triumphant  heavenly  music  to 
the  angels'  song. 

This  story  you  also  are  to  hear.  Al- 
though the  hero  killed  no  dragons  and 
went  through  no  fires,  he  was  even  braver 
than  Siegfried;  for  when  the  whole  world, 
— as  it  seemed  to  him, — was  calling  him 
to  forsake  the  right  and  good,  his  heart 
was  strong  and  brave,  and  he  turned  away, 
saying"  he  could  never  do  as  they  wished 
because  his  heart  told  him  it  was  not  right. 

156 


PARSIFAL. 

In  the  days  when  this  story  was  first 
heard  there  was  something"  which  every 
one  longed  with  all  his  soul  to  possess  for 
his  very  own.  It  was  the  most  beautiful 
and  holy  thing  in  all  the  world  and  it  was 
called  the  Holy  Grail.  Everyone  who  had 
ever  possessed  it  was  made  nobler  and 
kinder  than  ever  before,  so  it  is  no  wonder 
that  all  people  wished  for  it. 

No  one  knew  just  where  to  find  it,  and 
what  was  so  very  strange  about  it  was 
that  it  was  found  in  so  many  different 
places.  Some  found  it  right  in  their  own 
homes,  while  others  had  to  wander  over 
the  whole  world  before  they  could  possess 
it,  and  many  never  found  it  at  all  for  they 
were  not  ready  for  it.  No  one  could  find 
this  Holy  Grail  and  have  it  for  his  own  un- 
less he  were  so  pure  and  loving  that  he 
could  harbor  no  evil  thought  or  be  unkind. 

Once  a  company  of  strong,  true  knights 

157 


PARSIFAL. 

started  in  search  of  the  Holy  Grail.  They 
were  so  brave  that  just  to  look  at  them 
gave  one  new  courag^e,  for  the  glad  light 
of  an  unselfish  life  shone  in  their  faces. 
They  were  dressed  in  armour,  but  had  no 
horses  to  ride,  so  they  had  to  travel  slowly, 
and  often  they  would  get  very  tired. 

Sometimes  their  way  led  them  over 
stony  paths,  and  again  over  hot,  sandy 
deserts,  and  often  before  them  would  be 
seen  a  high,  steep  mountain.  Sometimes 
they  would  travel  all  night,  but  oftener 
they  would  stop  and  rest  while  it  was 
dark.  At  such  times,  after  their  evening 
prayers  had  been  said  they  would  throw 
themselves  upon  the  ground  and  sleep  so 
as  to  be  able  to  travel  the  faster  when  the 
morning  came. 

How  many  stories  the  stars  and  the 
moon  could  tell  if  we  could  but  under- 
stand!    The  same  stars   and' moon   that 

158 


PARSIFAL. 

shine  in  the  sky  tonight  kept  watch  while 
these  weary  knights  of  long-  ago  slept  and 
dreamed  of  the  Holy  Grail. 

When  morning  broke  these  brave  knights 
would  arise,  and  after  the  morning  prayer 
of  thanksgiving,  would  again  press  on. 
They  did  not  stop  for  breakfast,  but  ate 
their  simple  food  while  they  were  on  their 
way. 

Early  one  morning  they  came  to  a  great 
forest.  Tired,  and  almost  disheartened, 
they  stopped. 

"We  must  not  remain  here,"  said  their 
leader,  whose  name  was  Amfortas.  "When 
you  are  tired  think  of  the  joy  that  awaits 
us  when  we  have  found  the  Holy  Grail. 
A  little  weariness  must  not  be  thought  of 
now. " 

Encouraged  by  his  words  the  knights 
entered  the  dark  forest.  On  and  on  they 
traveled,  arid  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the 

159 


PARSIFAL. 

farther  into  the  forest  they  went,  the  less 
weary  they  grew.  It  was  no  wonder,  for 
though  they  did  not  know  it,  they  were 
coming  nearer  the  Holy  Grail. 

"Let  us  stop  here,  comrades,"  said  Am- 
fortas,  "and  again  thank  our  Heavenly 
Father  for  bringing  us  thus  far. " 

So  once  more  they  knelt  and  prayed, 
thanking  the  Great  Father  for  His  good- 
ness, and  asking  Him  if  they  might  not 
this  day  find  the  Holy  Grail. 

As  they  knelt  in  prayer  a  great  light 
filled  the  forest  above  their  heads.  They 
rose  to  their  feet.  Not  a  knight  spoke,  for 
it  seemed  as  if  the  Father  must  be  with 
them.  With  faces  upturned  they  listened, 
and  a  voice  coming  from  the  very  center 
of  the  light  spoke  to  them  saying,  '  'Here 
you  have  found  the  Holy  Grail.  Build 
here  a  beautiful  church  in  which  to  wor- 
ship by  prayer  and  song  your  Heavenly 

160 


PARSIFAL. 

Father,  but  should  any  one  need  you,  go 
to  him  at  once  though  it  be  thousands  of 
miles  away.  From  this  time  on  you  shall 
be  called  the  Knights  of  the  Holy  Grail, 
and  Amfortas  shall  be  your  king." 

The  voice  ceased.  Again  the  knights 
fell  on  their  knees  and  worshiped  God. 
When  they  arose  the  great  light  had  van- 
ished, but  in  the  face  of  each  brave  knight 
shone  a  new,  peaceful  light,  for  they  knew 
that  at  last  they  had  found  what  they  had 
been  for  so  many  years  striving  to  gain. 

It  always  happened  that  whenever  any- 
one found  the  Holy  Grail  the  light  came 
and  the  voice  spoke,  although  the  mes- 
sages were  always  different.  It  did  not 
tell  everyone  to  build  churches,  but  it  told 
these  knights  to  do  so. 

They  lost  no  time  in  obeying,  and  soon 
in  the  midst  of  the  forest  stood  the  most 
beautiful  church  in  the  world, — the  Church 

161 


A       R       S 


F 


L 


of  the  Holy  Grail.  It  was  indeed  beauti- 
ful with  its  great  stained  g-lass  windows 
through  which  the  light  shone  in  many 
rich  colors,  but  the  most  wonderful  thing 
about  it  was  the  music  which  told  always 
of  the  Holy  Grail. 


rfT 

H 

r-^ 

rS— » 

A>v    J    1  ^- 

^y== 

H4^= 

-f;  nrz 

^ 

Ea 

E 

^^\ 

^ — -J— ^ 

¥-*- 

-^ J*  *  ' 

1  _u^ 

^ 

r.     ~ 
JA^ f — 

fr-tf- 

-0-^ 

a 

^ 

t- 

'  >ii         ' 1 

tfc 

-F=^ 

B 

'M      i 

1=^ 

b 

— 

1 a 

GRAIL  MOTIVE. 

Each  day  the  knights  went  into  the 
church  to  pray,  for  if  they  were  always  t6 
be  brave  and  pure  their  needs  must  have 
daily  help  from  Heaven. 

Far  distant  in  this  same  forest  was  an 
enchanted  palace  in  which  lived  a  very 
wicked  man.  So  wicked  was  he  that  his 
life  was  given  up  to  doing  harmful  deeds. 
Surrounding  this  palace  was  a  garden  of 
enchanted    flowers.      They    were    large, 

162 


PARSIFAL. 

bright-colored  blossoms,  and  g"ave  none  of 
the  sweet  perfume  of  the  pure  white  lily 
of  the  valley  or  of  the  deep  blue  violet. 

The  wicked  man  who  was  known  as  a 
magician,  had  magic  power  and  he  did 
many  harmful  things.  One  of  his  most 
wicked  deeds  was  to  keep  a  very  beautiful 
woman  under  his  spell.  He  commanded 
her  to  sing  in  this  garden  when  brave 
knights  were  passing  by  that  she  might 
entice  them  to  come  in.  If  once  they  en- 
tered they  were  also  bound  by  this  wicked 
man's  power.  Not  only  did  this  woman 
sing,  but  all  the  flowers  sang  with  her,  so 
that  it  took  a  knight  even  braver  than 
Siegfried  to  resist  going  into  the  garden. 

Amfortas  and  all  of  his  knights  knew  of 
this  palace,  and  it  gave  them  much  uneasi- 
ness for  they  knew  the  harm  its  master 
could  do.  At  last  Amfortas  decided  to  go 
with  his  knights  to  that  part  of  the  forest 

163 


PARSIFAL. 

and  break  the  power  of  the  magician's 
spell  by  destroying  the  palace. 

As  they  started  Amfortas  warned  them 
not  to  stop  for  a  moment  to  listen  to  the 
music  as  they  passed  by  the  garden.  In 
his  hand  he  carried  a  holy  spear  which  he 
had  once  captured  from  a  Christian  pil- 
grim. So  holy  and  wonderful  was  this 
spear  that  were  it  used  in  the  right  way  it 
could  destroy  all  evil  and  bring  joy  and 
happiness. 

As  the  knights  journeyed  through  the 
forest  they  sang  of  their  holy  church  and 
the  joy  that  would  be  theirs  when  the 
magic  palace  should  be  destroyed. 

Nearer  and  nearer  they  came.  At  first 
they  could  hear  only  a  faint  sound,  but 
soon  they  heard  the  fatal  singing.  All 
stood  more  erect  than  before  as  if  to  resist 
the  temptation.  As  they  approached  the 
garden  all  the  bright  flowers  could  be  seen, 

164 


PARSIFAL. 

and  they  sang-  louder  and  louder  as  the 
knights  advanced. 

Slowly  and  manfully  the  knights  walked 
by, — all  but  Amfortas,  their  king-,  who  was 
riding  behind  the  others.  As  he  ap- 
proached, carrying-  his  spear,  the  song  of 
the  flowers  became  louder  than  ever,  and 
the  beautiful  woman  appeared  and  sang" 
to  him.  So  enticing-  was  her  charm  under 
the  magician's  spell  that  Amfortas,  King 
of  the  Holy  Grail,  forgot  all  else,  entered 
the  garden,  laid  down  his  holy  spear,  and 
approached  her  whose  singing-  had  tempted 
him  until  he  yielded. 

Instantly  the  wicked  man  appeared,  and 
grasping  the  spear  he  pierced  Amfortas' 
side. 

With  a  cry  of  agony  Amfortas  fell  to  the 
g-round.  The  palace  and  the  garden  he 
now  forg-ot  and  remembered  only  the  Holy 
Grail. 

165 


PARSIFAL. 

The  knights,  hearing  the  cry,  hurried 
back  to  the  garden,  and  tenderly  lifting 
their  wounded  king,  carried  him  back  to 
their  home.  Before  they  started  they  tried 
to  find  the  spear,  but  the  wicked  magician 
had  vanished  with  it.  When  they  reached 
home  with  their  king  they  very  carefully 
bound  up  his  wounded  side  with  a  healing 
medicine  which  always  before  had  cured 
the  deepest  wounds. 

How  Amfortas  suffered  day  and  night! 
The  fever  burned,  and  it  seemed  to  him 
that  his  body  was  on  fire.  For  weeks  and 
weeks  he  lay  in  his  bed  hardly  able  to 
move,  so  great  was  the  pain.  All  the 
medicine  the  kind  knights  gave  him  and 
all  their  tender  nursing  seemed  to  do  him 
no  good.  The  wound  in  his  side  remained 
the  same  as  it  was  the  day  the  spear 
pierced  it. 

Months    went  by.     Often    the    knights 

166 


R       S 


L 


would  carry  their  king-  down  to  the  lake 
close  at  hand  and  bathe  him  in  its  cool 
waters,  but  even  that  did  not  ease  his  suf- 
fering. 

Every  day,  as  was  their  custom,  the 
knig-hts  would  enter  the  church  and  listen 
to  the  music. 


GRAIL  MOTIVE. 

Sometimes  they  would  carry  Amfortas 
there,  thinking  that  it  might  ease  his  ter- 
rible suffering,  but  it  did  not  help  him. 
They  brought  medicine  from  all  parts  of 
the  earth,  but  it  could  not  heal  the  wound. 

One  day  the  bell  in  the  church  rang  out 


I'/i  n  i.ii^/i  ^ 


BELL  MOTIVE. 
167 


PARSIFAL. 

and  in  deep,  solemn  tones  called  the 
knig-hts  to  enter  the  church.  Slowly  they 
approached,  carrying",  very  tenderly,  their 
king".  As  they  entered  the  music  beg"an. 
Carefully  laying  Amfortas  down  they  knelt 
and  prayed  that  their  king-  mig'ht  very 
soon  be  well. 

As  they  rose  from  their  knees  Amfortas 
sat  up  and  spoke  to  them  ag"ain  of  the 
Holy  Grail,  telling'  them  that  if  they  al- 
ways kept  their  lives  pure  and  unselfish 
.they  would  always  have  the  Holy  Grail 
with  them.  As  he  finished  speaking"  he 
fell  back  exhausted,  and  the  pain  in  his 
side  seemed  almost  g"reater  than  ever. 

For  a  moment  therp  was  silence.  Then 
a  faint  voice  was  heard  which  seemed  to 
come  direct  from  Heaven.  Slowly  and 
softly  it  spoke: 

"Wait  for  him  whose  life  is  filled  with 
love  and  pity.     He  will  g"o  all  around  the 

168 


R 


world  and  bring  back  the  holy  spear  with 
which  he  will  touch  the  side  of  Amfortas, 
and  it  will  be  healed." 

What  joy  shone  in  the  faces  of  the 
knights  as  they  left  the  church,  for  the 
prophecy  had  been  given  of  the  end  of  the 
sufferings  of  Amfortas. 


169 


PARSIFAL. 

II. 


PARSIFAL. 


II. 

Happy  indeed  were  the  knights  that  the 
promise  of  the  healing-  of  Amfortas  had 
been  given,  but  they  had  to  wait  so  long 
that  at  times  they  wondered  if  they  could 
have  mistaken  the  voice. 

"No,  that  could  not  be, "  said  the  oldest 
among  them,  "for  did  not  the  voice  come 
from  above,  and  does  that  Divine  Love 
ever  fail?" 

So,  by  the  trusting  faith  of  the  old 
knight  was  the  courage  of  all  kept  up.  The 
days  truly  seemed  very  long,  but  faith  and 
trust  were  in  their  hearts.  Amfortas  bore 
his  suffering  like  the  brave  king  that  he 
was,  and  when  the  wound  pained  him 
most,   he   repeated  to   himself   what  the 


PARSIFAL. 

voice  had  said, — "Wait  for  the  one  whose 
life  is  filled  with  love  and  pity." 

One  day  the  white-haired  old  knight  was 
walking  with  his  hands  folded  behind  him, 
as  if  in  deep  meditation.  His  face,  though 
thoughtful,  was  quiet  and  calm,  for  all  the 
hard  battles  of  life  were  over  for  him.  To 
be  sure,  wrinkles  could  be  seen  on  his 
brow,  but  they  only  told  of  the  sacrifices 
which  had  been  lovingly  made.  They 
were  the  handwriting  on  his  face.  Sud- 
denly he  stopped  walking,  and  looking  up 
to  Heaven  asked  if  the  one  who  was  to 
heal  Amfortas  would  not  soon  come. 
Hardly  had  he  finished  speaking  when  a 
youth  in  forest  dress,  with  a  bow  and  ar- 
row in  his  hand,  bounded  in  front  of  him. 
The  old  knight  was  first  to  speak: 

"My  brave   youth,   who    are    you,  and 
whence  do  you  come?" 

"I  am  Parsifal." 

174 


R       S 


F       A       L 


As  he  said  it  the  Parsifal  music   was 
heard. 


tff[fi^fWffi^i[ff?M^ 


^ 


5^ 


l\  ^ 


m 


PARSIFAL  MOTIVE. 


T*^ 


The  youth  continued  to  speak. 

"I  was  very  happy  in  the  forest,  living 
quietly  with  my  mother.  Very  few  people 
passed  that  way,  but,  alas,  one  day  some 
gallant  knights  in  full  armour  rode  by. 
After  that  I  was  not  contented.  My  heart 
burned  like  a  living  coal.  Over  and  over 
again  I  told  myself  I  ought  to  be  a  knight. 
At  last  I  could  contain  myself  no  longer. 
I  bade  my  dear  mother  good-by  and 
started  in  search  of  knighthood." 

"My  young  friend,  do  you  know  what 

175 


PARSIFAL. 

true  knighthood   means?"  asked  the  old 
knight. 

"Alas!  I  only  know  that  the  men  I  saw 
looked  brave  and  true,"  replied  the  youth. 

"To  be  a  knight  means  even  more  than 
that.  Years  ago  in  my  youth  I  also  left 
home  to  become  a  knight,  and  it  has  taken 
me  a  whole  lifetime  to  realize  true  knight- 
hood." 

"Everything  is  so  peaceful  here.  To 
what  place  have  I  come?"  asked  the  youth 
looking  wonderingly  about  him. 

"This  is  the  domain  of  the  Knights  of 
the  Holy  Grail,  and  yonder  stands  the 
church  on  the  very  spot  where  we  found 
the  Grail." 

While  the  old  knight  was  speaking  the 
bell  began  to  peal,  and  the  procession  of 
knights,  bearing  Amfortas,  could  be  seen 
entering  the  church  with  slow  and  solemn 
steps. 

176 


PARSIFAL. 

"Let  us  g-o  into  the  church.  There  you 
will  hear  music  like  unto  the  songs  of  the 
angels,"  said  the  old  knig-ht. 

"Shall  I  find  the  Holy  Grail  there  within 
the  church?"  eagerly  asked  Parsifal. 

'  'Th  at  no  earthly  knowledg'e  can  reveal, " 
replied  his  companion,  and  they  entered 
the  church  together. 

With  folded  hands  Parsifal  stood  spell- 
bound just  within  the  door.  The  old 
knight  took  his  place  among  the  others. 

It  would  be  hard  to  tell  the  feelings  of 
the  young  Parsifal  as  he  listened  to  the 
music.  He  had  never  before  been  in  a 
church,  and  the  music  seemed  indeed  like 
an  angel's  song"  to  him.  As  it  ceased  the 
knig-hts  knelt  in  prayer,  after  which  they 
tenderly  raised  their  king  that  he  mig'ht 
speak  to  them.  His  strength  was  so  nearly 
exhausted  that  he  could  scarcely  speak, 
but  Parsifal  heard  these  word: 


PARSIFAL. 

"Always  be  faithful  to  the  Holy  Grail." 

Again  the  music  burst  forth  and  the  pro- 
cession of  knights,  moving  slowly  down 
the  long  aisle,  left  the  church. 

Parsifal  stood,  apparently  transfixed, 
until  the  old  knight  approached  and  said 
softly  to  him  "Come  with  me,  and  I  will 
tell  you  all."' 

The  youth  whose  life  was  just  begun  and 
the  old  knight  who  before  many  years 
would  enter  a  new  life,  passed  on  slowly. 
Beside  the  calm  waters  of  the  lake  they 
stopped  and  the  knight  told  the  whole  sad 
story  of  Amfortas  to  the  young  Parsifal. 
He  told  him  also  of  the  voice  which  said 
"Wait  for  the  one  whose  life  is  filled  with 
love  and  pity." 

"One  must  touch  again  the  wound  with 
the  Holy  Spear  if  our  king  lives,"  con- 
tinued the  knight,  "and  that  is  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  wicked   magician.     But  I 

178 


PARSIFAL. 

must  leave  you  now  for  I  have  duties  to 
perform."  So,  bidding- the  youth  good-by, 
he  returned  to  the  house. 

Parsifal  watched  him  until  he  disap- 
peared. Then,  with  a  heart  filled  with 
love  and  pity  he  turned  in  the  direction  of 
the  magician 's  palace.  His  mind  was  filled 
with  thoughts  of  the  church  and  of  Amfor- 
tas,  King  of  the  Grail.  As  he  walked  on,  a 
great  desire  came  to  him  to  possess  the 
Holy  Grail,  and  now  and  then  he  stopped 
to  see  if  he  could  not  hear  the  voice  tell- 
ing him  he  had  found  it.  But  no  voice 
spoke. 

"I  must  press  on  so  that  I  may  recover 
the  Holy  Spear  of  Amfortas.  That,  and 
that  alone,  the  old  knight  told  me,  could 
cure  the  wounded  side." 

The  air  seemed  somewhat  heavier  as  the 
youth  hurried  on,  and  it  seemed  more  diffi- 
cult for  him  to  breathe  than  it  did  in  the 

179 


PARSIFAL. 

knig^hts'  domain.  But  he  did  not  stop.  Al- 
though he  knew  it  not  he  was  approach- 
ing the  wicked  magician's  palace.  So 
wicked  was  the  magician  that  his  power 
seemed  to  affect  the  very  atmosphere. 

Soon  Parsifal  stopped  and  listened,  for 
he  heard  music. 

"I  must  hasten  on,"  thought  he,  "for 
that  music  comes  from  the  garden  of  the 
magician's  palace." 

Louder  grew  the  song  as  he  neared  the 
garden. 

"Strange,"  said  he  to  himself,  "this 
music  makes  me  think  only  of  myself, 
while  the  Holy  Grail  music  made  me  think 
of  my  Heavenly  Father.  It  is  so  differ- 
ent." 

Just  then  he  came  to  the  garden.  Big, 
bright  colored  flowers  were  before  him. 
Each  flower  was  singing  to  him  to  enter, 
but  he  stood  unmoved. 

180 


PARSIFAL. 

"Those  flowers,  though  so  highly  col- 
ored, are  poisonous,  and  they  have  none 
of  the  sweet  perfume  of  my  forest  blos- 
soms." 

Louder  and  louder  sang-  the  flowers.  In 
their  midst  stood  a  woman  dressed  in 
bright  and  glittering  garments.  Soon  she 
too  began  to  sing. 

Parsifal  listened  as  in  strains  of  won- 
derful music  she  coaxed  him  to  come  into 
the  garden  where  he  could  have  everything 
that  he  wished  to  eat  and  drink  and  wear. 
Here  he  could  listen  to  entrancing  music 
all  the  day  long,  and  have  for  companions 
the  gay  flowers. 

"Come,  only  come,"  sang  the  woman. 

Parsifal  hesitatingly  lingered  and  lis- 
tened. So  enticing  was  the  song  of  the 
woman  that  it  seemed  to  the  youth  as  if 
the  whole  world  were  calling  him.  Sud- 
denly he  put  his  hand  on  his  side  as  if  in 
great  pain.  181 


PARSIFAL. 

"Now  I  know  what  Amfortas  suffers," 
cried  he.  "No,  I  will  not  come  into  the 
garden.  Is  it  not  enough  that  you  have 
caused  Amfortas. to  suffer  as  he  does?" 

"Come,  come,  only  come!  We  will  make 
you  forget  all  else,"  sang  the  woman. 

"Never!"  cried  Parsifal. 

Then  the  woman  called  aloud  to  the 
magician,  for  she  knew  her  power  was  gone. 
As  she  screamed  the  magician  appeared 
with  Amfortas's  Holy  Spear.  Looking  for 
one  moment  at  the  youth  he  said  angrily: 

"I  will  wound  you  as  I  did  Amfortas," 
and  with  that  he  threw  the  spear  straight 
at  Parsifal. 

But  strange  as  it  may  seem,  instead  of 
touching  the  youth,  the  spear  hung  poised 
in  the  air  above  his  head.  Surely  some 
great  love  stayed  it  there.  Filled  with 
hope,  Parsifal  reached  up  and  took  the 
Holy  Spear  in  his  hand. 

182 


PARSIFAL. 

Just  as  he  touched  it  a  mig-hty  crash 
came  and  the  mag-ician's  palace  and  all  its 
inmates,  the  g-org-eous  flowers  and  spark- 
ling- fountains,  all  disappeared.  In  its 
place  stood  wide-spreadingr  shade  trees. 

Parsifal  looked  in  amazement  at  the 
sudden  chang-e.  Then  he  said,  "I  must 
hasten  back  to  the  knig-hts,  for  now  it  will 
be  but  a  few  hours  before  Amfortas  will 
be  made  well, " 

He  looked  in  front  of  him;  then  turned 
and  looked  the  other  way,  but  alas,  he 
knew  not  whether  to  turn  to  the  rig-ht  or 
to  the  left.     He  was  lost! 

Standing  along-  in  the  forest  he  prayed 
to  the  Heavenly  Father  that  he  might  find 
the  Holy  Grail,  and  also  that  he  might 
find  his  way  back  to  the  knig-hts  and  to 
Amfortas.  The  thought  of  what  the  old 
knight  told  him  came  again  to  his  mind, — 
^'Some  people  have  to  travel  all  around 

183 


PARSIFAL. 

the  world  before  they  find  the  Holy  Grail." 

"Perhaps  I  may  be  one  who  has  to 
travel  far  to  find  it,  but  I  will  press  on, 
and  when  my  life  is  pure  enough  and  ray 
heart  filled  with  love,  then  I,  too,  may 
possess  it." 

Long  and  hard  was  the  journey  of  the 
young  Parsifal.  For  days  and  days  he 
traveled  without  rest,  and  when  at  last 
he  did  lie  down  to  sleep,  in  his  dreams  he 
traveled  on,  and  even  reached  the  end  of 
his  journey.  But  when  he  awoke  he  heard 
a  voice  say: 

"Travel  on.  Love  leads  the  way  to  the 
place  where  you  will  find  the  Holy  Grail." 

Often  he  would  be  obliged  to  go  over 
rough  and  thorny  paths.  At  other  times 
high,  jagged  mountains  loomed  up  before 
him,  but  hardest  of  all  was  the  slimy, 
muddy  slough  which  he  had  to  wade 
through.     His  feet  were  bruised  and  sore 

184 


PARSIFAL. 

and  many  times  his  throat  was  parched 
and  thirsty,  but  still  he  kept  on,  and  never 
tor  a  moment  did  he  let  go  of  the  Holy 
Spear. 

At  times  in  his  long"  journey  he  met 
people  who  needed  his  help.  A  poor, 
tired  mother  carrying  a  heavy  baby  would 
be  going  his  way,  and  being  young  and 
strong  he  would  take  the  baby  in  his  arms 
and  carry  it  for  the  mother;  and  at  times 
an  old  man  needed  to  be  helped  over  a 
rough  place. 

One  day  as  he  was  hurrying  on  he  heard 
a  faint  moan,  and  looking  down  he  saw  a 
little  white  lamb  that  seemed  to  have  lost 
its  way.  Very  tenderly  did  he  lift  the 
little  lamb  in  his  arms  and  hold  it  close  to 
his  heart.  It  seemed  as  if  in  some  way  it 
gave  new  warmth  to  him,  and  again  he 
thought  of  the  sweet  story  his  mother  used 
to  tell  him  of  the  dear  Savior  who  carried 

185 


PARSIFAL. 

the  lambs  in  his  bosom.  Parsifal's  heart 
was  so  peaceful  as  he  walked  on.  Soon 
he  came  to  the  shepherd  and  his  herd  of 
sheep,  and  placing  the  little  lamb  near  its 
mother  he  passed  on. 

'  'You  are  coming"  nearer  the  Holy  Grail, " 
said  the  voice. 

It  was  night  time  now,  and  as  Parsifal 
walked  on  he  looked  up  into  the  sky 
studded  with  twinkling  stars.  Far  in  the 
east  the  moon  rose  into  the  heavens  and 
shed  its  beams  on  all  the  sleeping  earth. 

"How  beautiful  our  world  is!"  thought 
Parsifal. 

All  that  night  he  traveled.  Presently 
the  stars,  one  by  one,  disappeared,  and  as 
the  earth  awoke  the  moon  gave  place  to 
the  sun  that  it  might  do  its  work.  Straight 
ahead  of  the  youth  was  a  forest.  As  he 
entered  it  his  heart  gave  a  glad  leap,  for 
it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he  had  been  there 

186 


PARSIFAL. 

some  time  long"  before.  With  bowed  head 
he  walked  on.  Suddenly  he  stopped  for 
he  heard  a  voice  say: 

"Will  not  the  one  whose  life  is  filled 
with  love  and  pity  soon  come!  The  suffer- 
ing of  Amfortas  increases  day  by  day." 

There  through  the  trees  Parsifal  saw  the 
old  knight  walking  by  the  lake,  and  near 
him  was  the  woman  who  had  sung  to  him 
in  the  garden  of  the  magician's  palace. 
She  looked  very  different  now  from  what 
she  did  when  she  had  tried  to  tempt  him. 
Now  her  face  was  indeed  beautiful,  for  a 
change  had  taken  place  within  her  heart. 
For  years  she  had  been  under  the  spell  of 
the  magician,  for  in  her  youth  she  had 
done  a  wrong  thing,  and  that  was  her  pun- 
ishment. The  spell  the  magician  held  over 
her  could  not  be  broken  until  some  one 
would  be  strong  enough  to  resist  all  temp- 
tation.    This   Parsifal   had  done,   so  the 

187 


PARSIFAL. 

spell  was  broken  when  the  palace  disap- 
peared, and  the  magician's  power  over  her 
was  gone.  Now  her  life  was  given  up  to 
doing-  good  that  she,  too,  might  find  the 
Holy  Grail. 

With  the  spear  in  his  hand,  and  a  heart 
filled  with  love  and  pity,  Parsifal  ap- 
proached them.  The  knight  and  the 
woman  stood  silent,  for  Parsifal's  face 
shone  like  the  sun,  and  in  his  hand  they 
recognized  the  Holy  Spear. 

Parsifal  spoke: 

"I  have  traveled  all  around  the  world, 
and  hard  indeed  has  been  the  way,  but 
love  always  whispered  that  at  last  I 
should  find  the  church  and  Amfortas 
again." 

And  as  he  was  speaking  a  great  light 
shone  above  his  head,  and  a  voice,  coming 
from  the  very  center  of  the  light,  said: 

"Here  you  have  found  the  Holy  Grail. 

188 


PARSIFAL. 

Ever  after  this  you  are  to  be  King  of  the 
Grail,"  and  to  the  woman  the  voice  said, 
"You  have  also  found  the  Holy  Grail.  Be 
true  to  it  always." 

The  voice  ceased,  and  Parsifal  placing" 
the  Holy  Spear  in  the  sand  said,  "Let  us 
offer  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving." 

Long  they  talked  with  the  Heavenly 
Father,  thanking  him  for  all  he  had  given 
to  them,  and  asking  him  to  always  keep 
their  lives  pure  and  loving  that  the  Holy 
Grail  might  remain  with  them  forever. 
As  they  rose,  the  dust-worn  clothes  of 
Parsifal  fell  to  the  ground,  and  he  stood 
before  them  robed  in  pure  white  gar- 
ments. 

The  bells  in  the  church  pealed  forth  in 
sweeter  and  more  solemn  tones  than  ever 
before,  for  it  was  Good  Friday,  the  Friday 
before  Easter.  Once  again  the  knights 
could  be  seen  carrying  Amfortas  into  the 

189 


PARSIFAL. 

church.     Taking-  the   spear  in   his   hand 
Parsifal  said: 

"Let  us  also  go  into  the  church." 

All  was  silent  as  they  entered.  Parsifal 
walked  slowly  to  the  suffering  Arafortas, 
and  gently  uncovered  the  wounded  side. 
Then,  lifting-  the  Holy  Spear  on  high,  he 
touched  the  wound. 

Instantly  the  pain  ceased,  and  for  the 
first  time  since  he  had  gone  into  the  en- 
chanted garden,  Amfortas  stood  before 
them.  Great  indeed  was  their  amazement, 
but  greater  still  was  their  gratitude  as 
they  thanked  the  Father. 

The  great  light  shone  again,  and  from 
the  light  came  a  pure  white  dove.  It  flew 
direct  to  Parsifal  and  alighted  on  his 
shoulder.  Then  all  knew  that  he  was 
King  of  the  Holy  Grail. 

Again  the  music  burst  forth  and  told  its 
story  of  the  joy  of  unselfish  love.     It  was 

190 


wl 


R 


more  beautiful  than  ever,  for  it  not  only 
told  of  the  Holy  Grail,  but  it  told  the  story 
of  Good  Friday  and  of  the  glorious  Easter 
day  which  followed  so  that  the  whole 
earth  would  know  that  the  Divine  Love 
which  made  the  Easter  Tide,  like  the  sun, 
shines  on  forever. 


GRAIL  MOTIVE. 


191 


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